After the Storm
by CJMoor
Summary: Post 2x13 AU. What happens when the shock of the revelation has worn off? How does Zac cope? And where does that leave Mimmi and the rest of the gang?
1. Chapter 1

_After binge-watching the first half of series 2 on Friday, I started writing this. Finally got it to a decent length. Could be taken as a one-shot, but will likely write more, just to tide me over until they release the second half. This is my take on the aftermath of episode 13, so, obviously, spoilers._

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1.

Two days of school. Two days of school that Zac forced himself to attend because facing the hesitant looks of his friends was better than facing his _parents_.

Two days of going to class, keeping his head down, and pretending everything was alright. Even Rita had tried to stop him in the corridor at one point to ask him how he was doing and Zac hadn't even known how to reply to that.

_How was he doing?_ How was he doing after learning that everything he'd ever thought true about himself was just one big massive _lie?_

At least Rita didn't insist on handling him with kiddie gloves. Everyone else was treating him like he was made of glass. He wasn't. (Apparently, he was made of fish magic.)

So his whole life had been tipped on its head. It didn't mean they all had to tip-toe around him, acting like...like he would burst into tears at the drop of a hat, or something. He was practically a grown man (..._merman_). There was no need to treat him like a little kid who was too sheltered to know the truth. They didn't need to keep sending him covert looks, smiling falsely at him and changing the subject.

Despite that, he hadn't gone back to the café since he'd found out the truth. He hadn't seen more than a few glimpses of Ondina and Mimmi.

Mimmi.

He tried not to think about Mimmi.

In fact, he tried not to think at all. He got through each day minute by minute, hour by hour, keeping himself occupied with thinking about homework and class. He didn't touch water - hadn't so much as stuck a toe in it since the full moon. He was starting to smell, but he couldn't…

He couldn't _change_.

It was different, now. He'd changed back the last time, but what about the next time? What if one day he didn't change back at all?

It wasn't fun and games anymore. It wasn't like he was a superhero who'd received cool powers by accident. This was _his life_ now. This was _who he was._

And he wasn't human.

Three days later and he still wasn't human. Three days later and he'd never be human again. When he couldn't stop himself from thinking about it, he realised that he never _had_ been human. Not once. He'd been a merman all along. Some magical sea person who could breathe under water and who was part fish. He wasn't human, he was a _fish_.

His..._the Blakelys_ had adopted a _fish._

He wondered what they would do if they knew. Three days later and he still barely knew. The weekend was finally here and he couldn't pull himself out of bed. He lay there listlessly, staring at the ceiling, sometimes staring at his hand. His skin was dry and his palms peeling. He hadn't touched water for close to three days now.

He felt both repelled and attracted by it. There was a longing in his chest, a kind of ache, that had him dreaming every night of the open ocean. But the shock of that house of lies tumbling down around him still echoed acutely. The ache of longing was joined by an ache of resentment. For all the _lies_ and the hurt.

When he thought about it too long, the hurt grew larger than the anger. The hurt of knowing he'd been abandoned on land by a mermaid and a spell placed on him to trap him as a human. Of knowing that he'd been forced to grow up thinking he was someone and some_thing_ he was not. The hurt of knowing he'd been deprived of his true self for years, but also not knowing whether he even wanted to embrace it at all.

It had been fun before, but there had always been that fine line of separation. Zac had always felt like he still had a place to belong on land. The fins and powers were just a perk that made him special. They allowed him to experience an amazing world not his own and he'd been _grateful_.

He wasn't grateful anymore. Those things should have been his by birthright. They no longer made him different or special or part of a secret world, but rather an outcast in the world he'd grown up in. He didn't belong on _land, _now. He never had.

Saturday morning ticked by and he lay there, brooding and thinking. He began to turn the night of the full moon over and over again in his head. He wondered if maybe there had been a mistake, but Rita had been so _sure_. That other mermaid hadn't even hesitated. And _Mimmi._

Mimmi had jumped in front of him.

When it had all happened - when the truth had been revealed - Zac hadn't exactly been in the right frame of mind to really stop and think enough to appreciate what Mimmi had done for him. Standing between him and her pod leader like that...because, what? They might have the same mother_? _

A mother who had abandoned him as a baby after taking away everything that he was and replacing it with lies.

The more he thought about it the more he wondered how it all could have happened. Why did Mimmi end up in _Canada_ and Zac abandoned on the Gold Cost in Australia? How could they be siblings? They had the same hair, sure, but... They were too different. Not to mention it seemed a bit fishy that Zac hadn't exhibited any inclination for...for fish or the moon spell or Mako before the so-called 'spell' had broken. Could one spell really change so much? Even his taste in food?

Mimmi was convinced they were...that Zac was her... For two days he'd avoided her and for two days she kept giving him those...those stupid _hopeful_ looks every time their paths accidentally crossed. Zac knew he was supposed to be grateful to her, for standing up for him, but he hadn't asked for her to do that. Mimmi was trying to protect a part of him that simply wasn't there. She wanted some...some fantasy of a brother who didn't exist. She hadn't stood up for _Zac_. She'd stood up for her _brother_. Zac wasn't that person. Not really. He was Zac Blakely, not Zac the merman son of Nerissa, no matter what certain delusional mermaid pod leaders said.

He pulled an arm up to cover his eyes, pressing his forearm against the skin of his eyelids tightly.

A knock at the door interrupted his brooding. Zac didn't answer, but the door creaked open anyway.

"Zac? Honey? Can I come in? I brought you some tea."

Zac couldn't bring himself to respond to his mother's voice. His mother who wasn't his mother. He breathed in and out and tried to pretend that everything was normal. He wished she would go away, but that required _communication._

Something his 'parents' clearly needed more lessons in.

Footsteps drew close to the foot of his bed and the clink of china on wood told him the tea had been set down on his bed-side table. His mother sighed. "Zac…"

Zac yanked his arm down and peeled his eyes open to narrowed slits. She stood above him, mouth pressed tightly with emotion and eyes pleading. He stared at her, searching her face. The face he'd always thought he'd inherited features from. Guess that wasn't true.

She lowered herself slowly to perch on the side of the bed, smoothing down part of the duvet with gentle fingers. "Zac," she began, "I know this has been hard on you, but-"

"Hard?" Zac cut her off, sitting up abruptly so they were eye to eye. He frowned, fingers clenching in the covers. "My whole life, Mum!"

His mum looked away, biting her lip. "I…" Her shoulders lowered a little. "Look, we...we didn't see the need to tell you yet...you…" she shrugged helplessly. "We...were...We were going to tell you when you turned eighteen...but…"

Zac lowered his eyes to the bed and stared at the covers bunched over his lap, unable to watch his mother wring her hands and look oh-so-guilty. _Eighteen, huh?_ He wasn't eighteen for a whole other year. One more year of lies, if his parents had had their way.

A hand covered his suddenly and he jerked in surprise. He glanced up to find his mother smiling sadly at him. "You'll always be our baby, you know that right? Your father and I don't love you any less. In fact, I'd say we love you more, because we know how blessed we are that we were able to adopt you at all."

Zac bit his lip, turning to stare at their hands. He felt a slight stinging in his eyes. A kind of lump in his throat. His mum said that now, but...but if she knew the truth? That she and Dad hadn't adopted a _normal_ baby, but a _fish_ baby...what then? Would they still feel the same?

Zac would never know. He was living a lie. His parents had no idea who he was...and neither did he.

He let out a shaky breath. There was someone who perhaps _did_ know, but he wasn't about to ask Mimmi for information. It would only make her think he wanted to be her…that he believed...

His mother sighed, fingers squeezing his hand before letting it go. She shuffled a little on top of the bed so that they were facing each other more directly. "I know you've been avoiding your friends and us. I know this is strange and new, but no one is going to see you any differently, you know. You're the same boy you've always been, this doesn't have to change anything…"

Zac nearly laughed. Except it changed _everything_. He wasn't just a land boy who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd been _drawn_ to that island because it was in his blood. He was a _merman_.

He was a merman. A real merman.

Everyone who knew was going to see him differently. They already _did_. Even Evie couldn't stop giving him _looks_ during class when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Mum… I just… I just need some...time, please."

Sighing, Zac's mother stood and nodded. She patted his knee softly and then nodded at the bedside table. "I brought you some tea. I hope you feel better, Zac." She paused. "I love you."

Zac's shoulders hunched just a little. "Love you too," he mumbled, because he couldn't not say it back.

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to-"

A knock at the door cut her off. Both of them looked up, Zac slightly apprehensive. His mum was here already, and he doubted it was his dad. Dr. Blakely was working a morning shift right now, and not even Zac's emotional turmoil could keep him away from his patients. Which left…

"I bet that's your friends, come to see how you are," said Mum with a smile and a squeeze of his knee.

Zac sat up as straight as a rod. He opened his mouth, ready to blurt out "Don't let them in!", but then how would he explain why he didn't want to speak to them? For all his parents knew, he had found out he might be adopted, end of story. They had no idea about mermaids and mermen and, worse, _Mimmi_.

Naturally, when Mrs. Blakely opened the door, that's who was standing there: Mimmi. She glanced in hopefully. "Hi," she said shyly.

Zac wanted to scream. His throat suddenly felt drier than his skin.

"Oh," said Zac's mum, momentarily taken aback. There was a pause before she asked, "I don't believe we've met before?"

Mimmi quickly stuck out a hand. "I...I'm Mimmi." She peered past Zac's mum again, expression open and wide with hope. Zac sat frozen in the bed. He wanted to tell her to go away, but if he said anything in front of his mother, she'd want to know _why_ and then…

Then what, exactly?

"You sound American, Mimmi, did you just move here?" Zac's mum asked, curiosity overriding any solemnity left over from Zac's cold shoulder atittude. She gave Mimmi an open smile.

Mimmi ducked her head slightly. "Um, I'm originally from Canada, uh, Hudson Bay?"

"Oh, how lovely! Welcome! How do you like the Gold Cost?" When Mimmi failed to answer straight away, because she was busy peering around to catch Zac's eye, his mum blurted out, "Sorry, sorry, you came to see Zac, of course." She glanced between them with a wry smile. "Why don't I leave you two to it, and you can tell me about yourself later?" she added hopefully.

Zac could only watch mutely as Mimmi beamed at his mother. "I'd like that very much Mrs. Blakely!"

If his mum found it suspicious that she was so eager, she didn't say anything, merely kept smiling and stepped back so Mimmi could enter. As she left them alone, she sent Zac a significant look over her shoulder, mouthing, 'Talk to her!', before shutting the door.

Zac quickly climbed out of bed, fists clenched. "What are you doing here?" he demanded furiously.

Mimmi hovered by the doorway uncertainly. She bit her lip, looking around at all his things. She ran a hand over her loose, flowery dress and fiddled with some stray thread. "Zac, I..." She trailed off and breathed out heavily, looking like a kicked puppy when his glare only deepened.

Zac crossed his arms, waiting. Mimmi simply looked at him, eyes wide. There was a suspicious shine to her eyes that had nothing to do with the natural light streaming in from the partially open blinds.

It struck him then, that he was about to make her cry. She was literally on the verge of tears. He quickly dropped his arms from their aggressive pose and stuck his hands in his pockets. He averted his gaze to his collection of seashells, but even those reminded him of what he didn't want to remember, because half of those shells had been collected since he first got his tail.

The tense silence persisted. Zac hoped she'd just give up and go away.

Mimmi chewed her lip for a moment longer before sighing. She peered at him hopefully - that same look she'd been giving him ever since the bloody full moon. "I thought...maybe...we could…" she hesitated and Zac waited. "Go for a...a swim?" Her eyes flickered to his exposed arms, his neck, then his face.

Zac's fingers curled inside his pockets. He glanced away again. Why did she have to act so...so nervous. It was making him feel bad, like she actually was a puppy he'd accidentally kicked. Why did she have to keep looking at him so hopefully? This wasn't on him, none of it was. Why couldn't she just leave it alone?

Maybe they should talk. He should stop hiding in his room and deal with this like a man. Just tell her straight up that he had thought about it and he didn't want to talk or bond or...whatever she was hoping. That he just wanted to be left alone.

He crossed the room and slumped into the couch closest to the wall of shelves that divided his bed from the rest of his room. He kicked his feet out. "You wanna talk, fine, talk."

For a moment Mimmi looked like she was about to try to join him on his seat, but Zac narrowed his eyes. She diverted her path, quickly seating herself on the other couch. He was hit by a strong sense of déjà vu, as the last time he'd been sat here like this with someone, it had been his parents, telling him he was adopted.

Mimmi bit her lip and appeared hesitant to speak. She tried a smile, but when he didn't return it, it dropped off her face and she glanced downwards.

Zac also struggled to find the right words to start off. He wanted to tell Mimmi, as firmly and logically as possible, that she was living with expectations that were beyond him right now. He couldn't just suddenly turn around and act like...well, to be honest, he wasn't really sure how siblings were supposed to act, besides get on each other's nerves all the time, like Joe and David usually did...but he couldn't be that. They might not even _be_ siblings at all - this could just be one giant mistake. Mimmi needed to just accept that they couldn't be some fairytale family and stop trying to bond with him.

Eventually, Mimmi worked up the courage to start, because she cleared her throat into the awkward silence and said, "Look, I get that you're finding it hard to...to understand all of this. And...I get that this is new and you had no idea about the truth and suddenly everything's changed, but…" she stared at him earnestly, and her tone turned almost accusing. "I'm _just_ as surprised as you. I had no idea I had a brother and...I don't get why you wouldn't want to have a sister." She let out a shaky breath. "Is it...is it because we tried to take away your tail, in the beginning? It was a mistake, we know that now. _I_ know that now - I know you're not like other mermen and...you'd never hurt me or anyone and…" she trailed off, hands fiddling nervously in her lap.

Zac merely stared. He felt… he didn't know what he felt. "That's not it," he said. "And it's not the same." Mimmi might have discovered a wonderful secret, but what harm did it do her to gain a brother? He lost _everything_. He lost his family, his life, his _species_. Their situations were totally different and Zac wasn't going to pretend he was thrilled about any of it.

Mimmi leaned forward, undeterred. Her hands fell to either side of the cushions and she braced herself and declared, "I promise I'd be a good sister! I'll teach you whatever you want to know and I'll protect you from the pod and Veridia."

Zac winced, already shaking his head. He felt equally awful and equally bowled over. Mimmi wanted something from him that he just didn't feel ready to give. "Mimmi...I...I can't be your brother. I'm _not_ your brother." He gestured sharply with one hand. How could he get her to understand that...that he just _couldn't. _

Mimmi snapped upright, hands pulling into her lap where they clenched until they were white-knuckled. "Why not? What's wrong with me?" she demanded. She flung a hand out and laughed, bitterly, "Zac, by the moon, we're _family!_" She levelled her gaze at him, eyes narrowed, then began to tick things off with her fingers. "We have the same parents, we share _blood_, that makes you my _brother_, no matter whether you want to be or not!"

For a second after Mimmi finished, chest heaving with the effort of convincing him, Zac felt his own temper rear its head. He took a deep breath, preparing to shout if he had to, to get her to see reason, but he never got that far for suddenly there was a noise at the door; a scuffling sound. Zac whipped his head around just in time to watch the mug of tea slip from his mother's fingers and shatter against the wood outside his partially open door.

Mimmi leapt from the sofa in surprise, hand going to her mouth. Her eyes widened and met Mrs. Blakely's with surprise and horror. Neither of them moved or said anything. The tea continued to drip from the broken pieces of the mug. For a second, Zac couldn't breathe.

"M-mum," He stuttered out, in a single exhale, before scrambling to his feet and taking an aborted step forward. His hand came up, automatically, but then he was afraid to say or do anything. For a panicked moment, he wondered just _how_ _long_ she'd been standing there. How much had she heard?

He frantically calculated the time it would have taken to go back up to the house, pour a second cup of tea, and bring it down. Would she have made it in time to hear about tails and pods? He didn't think so. He hoped not.

He stared at her, heart thudding. Her eyes darted between Zac and Mimmi, and Zac saw the way she catalogued their appearance, eyes roaming from Mimmi's hair to her face and all the way down to her toes, and then over to Zac to do the exact same thing. She looked at the two of them like she'd never seen them before. Like she'd never seen _Zac_ before. She drew in a shaky breath and let her hands fall from the door handle.

"Mum?" Zac tried again, biting his lip and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"I...I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I just...I was just bringing some tea for…" She stared at Mimmi some more, with the kind of intensity reserved for scientists observing a fascinating experiment.

Mimmi swallowed heavily and tried to relax, despite the shock that was practically palpable in the room. She smoothed out her dress and offered Zac's mum a tremulous smile. "Um...thank you. Mrs. Blakely." She glanced around a bit desperately, managing to catch Zac's eye.

In that moment, Zac forgot all his protests against Mimmi. They shared a moment of 'what do we do now?' camaraderie.

Mrs. Blakely licked her lips and glanced down at the broken tea mug lying shattered at her feet. She laughed softly, hesitantly, "Oh dear. I should...I should clean that up. I should…"

It was plainly obvious that she was not okay. Her hands were not quite steady and she was staring too intently at the floor where the tea was slowly soaking into the wood planks. He still didn't know what she'd overheard, but they could figure that out later, first he needed to calm down his mum before she had some kind of nervous breakdown. He hurried forward and grabbed her hand, tugging her firmly into his room. "Maybe you should sit down, Mum. Worry about that later."

"Oh, but-"

"Come on," Zac added, guiding her inside, past the puddle of tea and shattered bits of ceramic. He manoeuvred her over to the sofa and pressed her down slowly, exchanging another worried look with Mimmi without even thinking about it. He remembered the cup of tea that was still sitting on his bedside table. "Hold on." He skirted the shelves and picked up the mug carefully, mindful of how full it was, and carried it slowly back to the sofa. "Here, Mum, drink this." He pressed it into her hands, and it was telling of just how much shock she was in that she didn't seem to notice it was the same mug she'd brought earlier as a peace offering. She took an obedient sip and then lowered it, frowning. She glanced up between him and Mimmi as they stood there, awkwardly.

She swallowed, looking between them again. "They...no one said anything about twins," she whispered. Her eyes began to redden. "I swear...we didn't know. We wouldn't have...I mean...Zac, sweetheart, we didn't know."

There was a lump in his throat. A lump that seemed to be preventing him from blurting out 'It's not true! You've got it wrong!' Because...because as much as he wanted to convince himself it was just fanciful thinking, there was still that possibility that it _was _true. There was that nagging voice that kept listing all the things that pointed towards the truth: Veridia's words, Rita's conviction, his and Mimmi's shared visions, their physical similarities...

Zac's shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, Mum, I know. No one knew." He didn't dare look at Mimmi as he spoke.

"Rita knew," Mimmi pointed out, voice slightly bitter.

Zac whipped his head around, narrowing his eyes at her. They still didn't know how much his mother had heard, they shouldn't say anything until they knew. He tried to convey just from expression alone not to say anything. Mimmi frowned at him, before her eyes darted back to Mrs. Blakely as his mum asked, "Rita? Not Principal Santos? Why would she know?" She lifted the cup of tea up to her mouth, then dropped it again, seemingly at a loss.

"Suspected," Zac said hurriedly, not sure what was worse - his mum thinking that Rita knew and hadn't said anything or…

"Rita's my aunt!" Mimmi added just as quickly, so that they nearly spoke over one another.

Mrs. Blakely stared at them both in surprise. "Then...Zac? You're also related to Ms. Santos?" She took a sudden gulp of tea, looking very much like she'd been hit over the head with a brick. "That's… Is that how you found out?"

Zac and Mimmi exchanged another glance while his mum stared into her tea like it held all the answers to the universe. "Um, that is-"

"Well, _Aunt_ Rita didn't _know_ know-" Mimmi began.

"Right! When Mimmi came she said she suspected something and had to check to be sure," Zac added desperately. "That's all. Just a _suspicion,_" he added pointedly.

"And then she _did_, and she _told_ us. And that's the _truth_," Mimmi finished with a stubborn set to her jaw.

Mrs. Blakely's head darted between them as they argued ambiguously, eyebrows slowly creeping up her hairline. She took another slow gulp of tea.

Zac scowled, hunching a little. He was getting an awfully big headache from all of this. He wished he could just dive into the ocean and forget all about it like he used to. Pretend none of this had ever happened.

"I don't understand," Zac's mum murmured after a few thoughtful moments. "If you're...if you're brother and sister, how did you get separated? Why wouldn't they tell us at the adoption agency?"

Zac swallowed. "I don't know, Mum. And it's not actually-"

"A mystery!" Mimmi cut him off sharply with a dangerous glint in her eye. She paused a second while Zac shut his mouth in annoyance, then transitioned into a wistful countenance. She smoothed her dress down, fiddling with the hem. She sighed and her eyes found Zac's meaningfully. "It's...my..._our_ mother disappeared when I was very young. She never told me I had a brother, and no one knows where she went. So why she...did what she did...no one knows."

Zac would wager that if - _if _\- Nerissa _was _his mother, there was a good chance that part of the reason she had done what she had would be to hide her _merman _son. That much, at least, was obvious. The question still remained why anyone (Nerissa or otherwise) would leave him so close to the Mako Island pod, or why he had such a strong connection to Mako in the first place?

Erik had said mermen always grew up on land, in the foster care system. Another question would be who had taken pains to hide his tail?

The even bigger question was..._why?_

There were a lot of unanswered questions.

It seemed that a lot of mystery surrounded his existence. Zac was afraid to find out the answers.

"Oh, Mimmi, I'm sorry," Zac's mum said softly, pulling Zac out of his reverie. "Did you grow up with family?" Her eyes darted to Zac quickly, as if judging his reaction.

"Family friends," Mimmi confirmed with a sly glance of her own at Zac. He took this to mean the pod had taken over raising her. Or it could be another jab at his refusal to _talk_ and _bond_.

Mrs. Blakely finally set the tea cup down on the small coffee table between the sofas. "Well…" She pasted on a smile. "I'm glad you've found each other...this is... You should stay for dinner and tell us about yourself." She stood up slowly, and Zac recognised the expression on her face as the one she got when she'd made up her mind about something and was going to be stubborn. He braced himself. "Yes, stay for dinner, please. If you're Zac's sister, that makes you family." She reached across the table, hands outstretched and Mimmi placed her own in Zac's mum's hand gingerly. He watched his mum smile, now far more genuinely. "We'd be delighted to get to know you, Mimmi. Zac should know his family."

Mimmi fairly grinned in response.

Zac's mouth tightened, but when his mother turned her happy face to his, he tried to muster something that wasn't a scowl in response. It probably came out looking like a grimace. He doubted he was fooling anyone, but his mother either chose to ignore it, or she had decided to be proactive about it, because she dropped Mimmi's hands and approached him to pull him into a hug. "Isn't this a happy surprise?" She asked over his shoulder, voice slightly pointed. "Your dad's never going to believe me when I tell him who's coming for dinner." She pulled back, hand smoothing down one shoulder in a comforting manner. Zac stood still, unsure how to react. His mum turned again to Mimmi. "Mimmi, dear, what do you like to eat?"

"Oh, any kind of seafood! I love seafood!"

Mrs. Blakely laughed and shook her head. Her eyebrows went up in a bemused fashion. "Oh you two are definitely related." Laughing again, she patted Zac's shoulder once and then made her way to the door. "I'll let you two talk, now."

Then she left and they were alone again.

Zac turned to Mimmi, furious. "What," he hissed, "do you think you're doing?"

Mimmi's smile dimmed and her hands went limp at her sides. Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Zac threw his arms up. "I thought I said I wasn't your brother, and now you come in and take over my family!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realised how ridiculous they sounded, but he couldn't take them back. He also refused to admit he might be over-reacting, so he crossed his arms roughly and stood his ground.

He refused to feel guilty when Mimmi's eyes filled with tears. "I'm not trying to take over anything! I just want us to treat each other like family! Why is that so hard?" She shouted, hands flinging out wide. Her lip trembled and shoulders heaved as she restrained any further tears.

Zac couldn't quite keep up his angry eye contact and he glanced away, the guilt settling in despite how much he tried to ignore it. "It's…"

Mimmi's mouth softened. She put a hand on her hip and just looked unbelievably sad and disappointed. Zac suddenly felt even worse. "Would it really be that terrible to have a sister?"

_Yes,_ Zac wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to truly make her cry. Crying girls were bad. He did not want to be that boy who made girls cry, even if those girls happened to be his very tenacious maybe-sister. He ran a hand through his hair, tugging perhaps a bit too harshly at the strands.

_Sister,_ he tried, in his head. It still didn't seem quite real. It made his throat feel tight and his skin itch. Or that could just be the lack of water. He rubbed at his hands self-consciously.

"Mimmi...look…"

"I thought you were stronger than this," Mimmi snapped suddenly, crossing her arms and lowering her chin. Her shoulders jerked back aggressively. "Always helping, there to save the day...always trying your best…Now you're just running away!" Her shoulders hunched a little, doing a complete turn-around, her mouth thinning. "I was _happy_ that it was you, you know. Why can't you be happy it's me?"

Zac found himself at a loss for words. He wasn't running away...was he? And he was strong, but this wasn't about strength this was about...truths and lies. This was about finding out from some mermaid pod leader intent on killing him that he was never human. That his own mother had given him up to be adopted.

That was it, he realised. He stared at Mimmi, and blinked quickly to ignore the slight stinging in the corner of his eye. Just some dust. His hand jerked at his side, fingers curling. "That's easy for you to say," he said, in as carefully controlled a voice as he could manage. "Nerissa didn't dump _you_ on land and put a spell on _your_ tail."

Mimmi had to look away for a minute. Her arms uncoiled and she looked suddenly smaller and more vulnerable. When she looked back, those were definitely tears. She took a step forward, and Zac stepped back on reflex. Mimmi wasn't deterred. She skirted the table until they were practically chest to chest. Zac was taller than her so he was forced to tilt his head down, and he was frozen for a moment at the sudden proximity. He didn't move away quick enough, so when her arms snaked around him and her cheek pressed against his collarbone, Zac continued to stand there, frozen. Mimmi squeezed him tightly. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke into his hair.

Zac, while normally a pretty tactile person, felt like he was having an out of body experience. He was being _hugged_. By Mimmi. He remained frozen, heart thudding quickly.

Mimmi turned her head so that her whole face was buried against his neck and something damp touched his collar. Mimmi's breathing grew ragged. "Zac," she choked out, "I'm _sorry_. _Please._"

Please, what? Zac wondered.

"I know it must have been hard, and I know all of this is not going to be easy." Mimmi drew in a ragged breath. Her cheek shifted against his shoulder as she tilted her head. "I know she didn't want to abandon you. I'm sure of it." She shifted again, sniffling. "Zac?"

Zac sighed heavily. He couldn't stand the thought of a crying girl, no matter who it was. He forced himself relax into the hug, until it felt less awkward and more natural. He let his arms come up around her side and back, hand resting over the back of her neck. She seemed suddenly quite fragile with the way he could wrap her up like this. She was an entire head shorter than him, smaller all around, and while he'd never thought of her as vulnerable before, now he wasn't so sure. Mimmi always acted like she knew everything, but he knew she could feel scared. He'd _felt_ her fear before, when they shared visions.

Right now she seemed small and breakable.

He patted her back awkwardly. "It's okay," he whispered.

She sniffed again and pulled back. He let his arms drop. Mimmi reached up and grabbed his face. "Then you'll let me be your sister?" she demanded quickly.

Zac didn't know how to respond to that. Or to the fact that she had grabbed his cheeks and was yanking him down to eye level. He flailed a little, pulling back.

Mimmi let her hands drop and she stepped further away. "I'll protect you, I promise."

Zac rolled his eyes as he straightened. "I don't need protecting."

"Still," said Mimmi, hand coming up to scrub at the redness in her eyes. She smiled through it, like she was putting up a brave front. "That's my job, isn't it?" She frowned and suddenly reached her hand above her head, measuring the differences in their heights. "Even if you are so tall, I'm still your big sister."

"Big sister?" Zac couldn't help but blurt out, shocked. "Aren't...we're not the same age?"

_What happened to 'maybe it's all a mistake'? _he thought.

Mimmi frowned, tilting her head to look at him. She put her hands on her hips. "Nope! I'm a year older than you, I think. You've just turned seventeen, right? I'm eighteen!" She jerked a thumb between them. "So that makes me the big sister and _you_ the little brother."

Zac's mouth opened and shut. A _big_ sister? Already he could see this ending badly.

And when had he agreed to this, anyway? He hadn't. He didn't want this. He didn't.

He frowned.

Mimmi reached for his hand, but Zac pulled away. She was left there, awkwardly holding it out, and her eyelashes fluttered rapidly and her breath hitched, and Zac knew - _knew_ \- that if he kept pulling away, he'd drive her to tears again.

He wondered if she'd figured that out and that's why she was being so tearful.

He nearly groaned. _Girls._

Reluctantly, he allowed her to step forward and grab his hand. The blinking stopped and she smiled brightly through the redness of her eyes. "Come on," she tugged softly, towards the door. "Let's go swimming. You've not been in the water for days now, you're going to dry out." Her fingers ghosted over his and she squeezed his hand in hers pointedly. His skin felt papery next to her smooth palm.

He nearly pulled away again, but… she had a point. He'd known for a while now that he was only hurting himself by staying out of the water. He'd tried to rationalise it by remembering a time when he'd not had a problem staying away from water, before he realised just how _often _land people used it in every day life. Even if he hadn't swam every day in the ocean, he'd washed his hands or had baths and showers. This was the longest he'd ever been without contact with water probably in his whole life.

"Please," Mimmi asked, tugging a bit more firmly. "We can talk about things some more, away from any prying ears." She shot a pointed look at the door, which Zac's mum had closed upon leaving, but that meant nothing when she could barge in at any time.

Why did she have to be so logical? They still needed to talk and he really didn't want to risk his mum overhearing anything _else_ important. He doubted he could bear having his parents discover the truth. He had no doubt that they would wish they'd never adopted him. He'd end up in the foster system, just like Erik.

So he followed her outside.

* * *

_[2.18.15] May edit later. That's all for now.  
[2.22.15] Small typo edit, not worth re-reading.  
[3.22.15] Another typo._


	2. Chapter 2

_Glad you all like my take on this. So here we go, some more of Zac working through his issues, Mimmi trying to be a good sister...etc. _

* * *

2.

It had been nearly three days since he'd touched water and now he stood at the edge of the dock at his house and stared down at it with mixed feelings. Mimmi stood next to him, watching silently as the breeze tugged at strands of her hair. The breeze carried the smell of the ocean and with it a pang of longing. Zac glanced at his hand; the skin was harsh and dry, his nail beds cracked and swollen. He hadn't really been all that concerned about it before, too distracted with anger to let the longing for the ocean force him to change.

Mimmi touched his arm softly, expression sympathetic. "You're too dry."

Zac clenched his hand into a fist, ignoring the way it stretched at his skin. Mimmi glanced over her shoulder at Zac's house, then to the right and left. "Come on," she said, and then wasted no time in diving straight off the edge of the dock.

Zac took a deep breath and pushed off the wood.

The water washing over him felt like the most soothing of balms, cool and pleasant against his skin, and he gasped, eyes shutting automatically. It felt like a hot shower after a long, exhausting day. His whole body tingled with the relief as he transformed. He loosened every muscle in his body from the tips of his fingers to the fluke of his tail with a long, drawn out stretch, then he just hung there for a second.

The swish of displaced water forced his eyes back open and Mimmi sent him a knowing smile over her shoulder. She swished her hands slowly and flipped her fin to turn, beckoning. He found himself following behind her golden-red tail.

As he swam now, for the first time since he'd been bludgeoned with the truth, he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to grow up with his tail. To grow up with _only_ a tail, even. To have _legs_ be something strange and otherworldly. He could scarcely imagine it. It seemed impossible that being a merman could be something normal and natural and yet…

He'd never felt so at home when he was in the water. Being a merman...even a week ago, he wouldn't have wanted to give it up for the world. He knew that if the girls had actually succeeded in taking away his tail, he would have felt like something was missing for the rest of his life.

He supposed he now knew the reason why.

They raced quickly over and down several drops, Zac keeping up easily. When they surfaced again after fifteen minutes of just releasing tension in the open ocean, Mako Island was off in the distance just over the horizon, and they paused a moment to catch their breath.

"Better?" Mimmi asked after moment, cheeks flushed from exertion and pleasure. Her eyes crinkled at him knowingly.

Zac shrugged. He didn't want to admit that yes, he felt better - more himself. He felt more relaxed and far less angry. He floated on top of the waves, squinting up at the sky and across the horizon. The ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see in all directions.

Mimmi drifted a bit closer and gave him a stern look. "Please take more care of yourself."

Zac glanced at her, and shrugged again. He hadn't come out here with her to be _mothered_. He'd come to talk, and because she had been right on one point - he'd stayed away from the water for too long. "How does that even work?" he asked, as it occurred to him no one had even bothered to explain. "What about Evie? Could she dry out?"

Mimmi frowned. "That's a good question. Mermaids dry out easily if we stay on land too long. Getting legs helps, it allows us to stay on land longer, but in the end we still need to go back in the water. We're still mermaids, no matter whether we have legs or not." She paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Evie is...different. I mean, she's a land girl." She shot Zac a wry grin. "Kind of like how we thought you were a land boy."

Zac grimaced. Right, please, by all means remind him how he wasn't who he thought he was.

"I bet you never went a day without being in water, even when you thought you were a land boy," Mimmi reasoned. "Evie, I'm not so sure. The moon spell effects her just like the rest of us though, so it's hard to judge." She raised both hands in a open-palmed shrug, and sunk a little before buoying herself up again. "She'd probably be fine. I hope."

"But I'll always have to stay near water," Zac concluded, unable to prevent the bitter tinge in his voice. It wasn't even that much of a hardship. He couldn't imagine living anywhere but the coast, but having the choice taken from him was a hard pill to swallow. He'd like to have the option, even if he never took it. It was the principle of the matter.

Mimmi gave him a knowing look, as if she could read his mind. For all he knew, maybe she could, what with this weird..._connection_ they had. "Like you'd actually _want_ to live anywhere else."

He scowled. "Well maybe I'd like to be able to _choose_…"

She rolled her eyes. "Zac, it's just not natural for mermaids - and mermen - to live out of the water, especially to be trapped in legs like you were."

Just to be contrary, he grumbled, "Erik said it himself, mermen grow up on land."

"But on the coast," she pointed out quickly. Then she shuddered, a full body shake that had her bobbing in the water. "I've read about those places called _deserts_ where there's nothing but dry sand and hot sun and no water for miles. No merperson could survive somewhere like that." Her eyes widened suddenly. "What if your parents had moved to a _desert?_ You'd have _died!_"

Zac shifted uncomfortably, tail twitching more quickly against the gentle current in agitation. "We'd have water. Baths, showers, sinks." He tried to ignore the way his heart picked up at the thought of being somewhere without water.

"Still," she whispered, looking perhaps a bit green. She wrinkled her nose, before her worry seemed to dissipate and she was back to smiling. "Fortunately, we don't have to worry!"

Zac remained silent. They continued to float there in the open ocean for a while. He wondered when Mimmi was going to get to the point and discuss the giant elephant in the room - or would that be the giant whale in the ocean? Namely, the matter of his parents.

It seemed she wasn't, because instead of bringing up the very salient issue of what Zac's mother may or may not have overheard, Mimmi decided to continue her attempts to _bond_. She drifted closer still, though she didn't try to touch him. Instead, she turned her gaze to the horizon, and she said, "Isn't it magnificent? The ocean is so big and beautiful."

Zac grunted. "Yeah, sure."

Mimmi tsked and shook her head slowly. "Boys," she said, like that explained everything. Then she turned every inch of her devastatingly sad eyes on him and reached out briefly to touch his arm. "I'm sorry you didn't get to grow up with this. There's so much more magic and mystery to the ocean than you know."

Zac shrugged uncomfortably and Mimmi's hand landed back in the water, far too close still for comfort. He eyed it, afraid she might try to touch or hold him again. A flick of his tail caused them to bob a few inches further apart.

She didn't seem to notice, caught up in her thoughts. "We're from the northern tribe, you know, so there's a lot of magic I know that Rita wouldn't have known to teach you." She turned to him, reaching eagerly. "I can teach you, if you want?" She managed to grab his hands and held them in an enthusiastic grip.

As much as Zac was interested in magic, he didn't think he could allow Mimmi that much leeway. She'd get ideas. She'd think they were bonding as siblings. If he gave her an inch, she'd definitely take a mile, maybe two.

He was still firm in his resolve not to give in. Mimmi wanted...wanted a fantasy brother and he wasn't going to fulfil it for her. He wasn't ready for that - for all that might entail. It was just too much.

"Thanks, but, no-"

"Great!" Mimmi cut him off before he could finish refusing. She knew it, too. She barrelled right over his protests, smile looking a bit strained. "There's so much for you to learn, but don't worry, you're the son of Nerissa, I have no doubt you'll be an expert in no time!" She began to gesture animately with her hands, eyes growing misty and distant as she plotted and planned. "It'll be great, just the two of us! The children of Nerissa, I bet we could do whatever we put our minds to!"

"Mimmi!" Zac shouted, cutting her off abruptly. He ran a hand over his face, utterly fed up, and then gestured widely, back in the direction of Mako, and the shore. "Stop, okay, just stop! I can't _do_ this right now! I came out here to talk, not...not _this._" He pointed between them back and forth.

Mimmi's face fell. "We...we are talking."

Zac palmed his forehead in frustration. "Talk about what to _do_. About my parents! About this stupid dinner...about making sure no one finds out!"

Mimmi exhaled heavily. "Oh. Well. Okay." She glanced away from him, mouth pressed together into a thin line.

Zac nearly groaned. "Look," he sighed. "Let's just get through tonight, okay?"

Mimmi nodded silently.

"So what are we gonna do?"

The water lapped at Mimmi's shoulders and neck as she lay back on the waves and stared up at the sky. She spoke to the clouds. "I don't see what the big deal is. We just tell your parents I'm your long lost sister, that Rita figured it out by putting two and two together. They already think Rita's my aunt, so it's not too far-fetched."

Zac made a noise of protest in the back of his throat, although he wasn't protesting Rita's presence, merely the idea that...the thought of Mimmi somehow inserting herself into his _family._ Until now, his mer-world and human-world had been kept mostly separate. His parents had always been _his_ parents. Having Mimmi around, constantly reminding him that…that he wasn't who he thought he was, was going to be hard.

Too hard. He couldn't do this...

"What's the matter? Do you still hate the thought of being related to me?" Mimmi accused, rolling back over to fix him with a look full of reproach.

Zac's mouth clicked shut with a guilty twitch. He'd nearly said 'yes' again, and wouldn't that have been a one-way ticket to tears-ville? He shook his head, at a loss for words.

He didn't know if he _hated_ the thought, per se. He didn't hate Mimmi. He just didn't want her expectations on his shoulders. He didn't want her constantly there, _reminding him._

Mimmi swam closer to him, not taking her eyes from his for a second. Her jaw set in a stubborn lock as they floated nearly chest to chest. "I'm your sister, Zac, nothing you do is going to _change_ that. Even if you never speak to me again, I'm still going to be your sister."

"How do you _know-_" he began.

Mimmi threw up her arms in exasperation. "Please, I know you don't believe that! It's true!"

Zac had no argument against that. Denial was not just a river in Egypt, as the saying went, but there was only so long he could pretend otherwise before even he had to admit he wasn't being reasonable. "Okay, fine," he admitted. Mimmi only raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Fine, it's true," Zac breathed out again in a rush, feeling strangely better the more he said it. "But just because it's true, doesn't make us family."

Mimmi reared back in surprise, expression flashing to hurt before she composed herself again. "What do you mean?"

Zac flicked his tail more firmly, raising himself just a bit more out of the water. He crossed his arms, looking down at her. "I _mean_, blood doesn't mean family. My parents raised me, they're my family. I barely know you."

_And I don't want you around, wanting me to be something I'm not,_ he didn't say.

"But that's the point." She gazed at him longingly. "I want to be family. I want to get to know you. Why is that so bad?"

"Because…" Zac floundered. "Because you'll expect…" he trailed off again, but Mimmi had apparently caught on because she shook her head slowly, swimming closer again. She reached out and touched his hand.

"Zac," she said firmly. "I'm not going to ask for anything you're not ready to give, okay? If you're not ready to be family yet, then we can work towards it, but don't push me away. We're friends, aren't we? This doesn't have to be any different, but just know that I want to be there for you however I can." She took a deep breath and let it out. "So you see, nothing has to change, except that you know I'll always be there, okay?" She smiled sadly. "You're my little brother, I'll stand by you and I'll help you and teach you whatever you want, and-" She shot him a look when he opened his mouth to protest that maybe he didn't _want_ to be taught or helped. "_And_, only if you want that. When you're ready for that, I'll be here."

There was now a lump in Zac's throat he was quite certain should not be there. Mimmi's sincerity might be infectious. Slowly, she was breaking him down, destroying any last protests. He broke away quickly, swimming a small distance just to put some space between them. He turned to look out over the open ocean and towards Mako Island, firmly putting his back to her.

Why did she have to sound so reasonable all of a sudden?

A hand suddenly curled around his shoulder. He'd barely felt her approach, so he twitched a little. "This doesn't mean you have to give up your old family, you know," she said, unknowingly hitting far too close to feelings Zac had been secretly harbouring. He flipped around, eyes wide. Mimmi gave him a knowing smile. "Seriously, _boys_." She shook her head. "So dramatic!"

Zac scowled. "_Girls_ are the dramatic ones."

Mimmi grinned, laughing lightly. "Oh I don't know about that." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously. This doesn't have to change anything. It actually _doesn't _change anything, you know. You're no different than you were a week ago, you just know more about yourself now." She pointed a finger at him, leaning forward to poke him in the chest. "Zac is still Zac. Truth doesn't change what already exists. You can keep being Zac, and your parents can keep being your parents, you don't have to lose any of that. You just get to _add_ to that."

His mouth opened and shut. Damn her for being so reassuring. It actually...helped. Worries he'd been pushing to the back of his mind began to unravel. He swallowed heavily. "Wh-what about my parents? If they ever find out… I mean, I was adopted… What if they don't want me anymore?"

Had he actually said that out loud?

Mimmi's eyes widened in surprise, though she tried to hide it by quickly composing herself. "Oh, Zac," she whispered, surging forward to wrap him in a hug. Zac froze, but before he could demand she let go, she was already backing away again. "Don't you get it? They love you the same as they did a week ago, and a year ago, and all the years before that." She cocked her head. "Did you ever doubt that before?"

"No," said Zac slowly, realisation dawning. "Of course not. They're my parents."

Mimmi beamed. "Exactly! Adopted or not, I don't think it matters. Now, we're going to make sure they don't find out, just like we were making sure they didn't find out a week ago, and a month before that, but...if they ever did find out, you're still going to be their son." She gestured towards the coastline vaguely. "I mean, did Cam or Evie abandon you when they found out?"

Zac shook his head. "Yeah, but that was before…"

Mimmi shot him a questioning look.

"You know," he pointed down at his tail. "I'm not…"

"Right," Mimmi said, nodding. "And now that they know, are they abandoning you?"

"No…" Zac's voice trailed off and he felt his cheeks heat as the embarrassment hit. God, he was so stupid. Why would it matter? Even after all the tension with Cam and the debacle with the trident, Cam hadn't abandoned him, or tried to tell anyone about him. Evie had been nothing but supportive. "Oh," he said lamely.

Mimmi nudged his shoulder teasingly. "See, look how good I am at being a big sister already."

He didn't even manage to muster up a scowl at that. And that most definitely wasn't a smile. At all.

"Hmm," said Mimmi. "Now, how about I make good on my promise and show you a few useful things?"

Zac shrugged. The grin Mimmi sent him was wider than her face. Suddenly, she splashed him, then, laughing, she ducked under the water and flipped her tail in his face. Zac gaped for a second at the playful teasing. He glanced for over his shoulder in the direction of the coastline and home, then back to where the last bubbles from Mimmi's dive were popping on the surface.

He ducked under and followed her.

* * *

Mimmi showed him several things no one had ever thought to teach him before. She pointed out different seaweeds and corals and fish. She showed him how to gather the edible ones and which to avoid. How to tell whether a sea sponge would make good cordial or not. She even showed him how to catch some crustaceans to eat, which they had as a before-dinner snack. It felt a lot like outdoor survival training, just...underwater. He found himself a little perturbed at the thought that if he really had to, he could simply...disappear into the ocean and never resurface.

He recalled a time he had accused Nixie, Lyla and Sirena of being able to do just that, back before he'd trusted their intentions. At the time, he'd said he couldn't just leave his family and disappear. Maybe he _could_ simply disappear and be able to survive, but...Mimmi had reminded him that family was more than blood. He still couldn't simply slip away into the ocean and disappear without being missed. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy a deeper connection to the ocean than he'd ever felt before.

Lyla would be proud.

He wondered sometimes what she and Nixie were doing and whether they were okay. Now he pondered how they'd react to learning about his true origins. Lyla would probably have been happy for him...Nixie...well, the expression on her face would have been worth it. All that talk about 'just a land boy' and she'd have to eat her words. If they ever came back, he was going to make sure to be there when she was told.

Eventually, the sun began to dip lower over the ocean and Zac gestured back towards the coast. They had a dinner appointment at his house to get to, which he was not looking forward to.

It was going to be the most awkward family dinner of his life. Even worse than the first time he'd brought Evie home as his official girlfriend.

They pulled themselves out of the water in a hidden alcove not far from Zac's house. The area had a few rocks that protected the strip of sand from the direct line of sight of anyone's window.

Zac stopped her before she could run up to his back door. He caught her arm and turned her around. Mimmi sent him a questioning look and Zac asked, "Have you thought about what you'll say to answer their questions?"

Mimmi paused. "Like I said, I came to visit my 'Aunt Rita' and she put two and two together. They can ask Rita for the details. She'll come up with something believable."

Zac bit his lip. "But I was thinking...how do we explain about me knowing Rita from before?"

Mimmi frowned. "What do you mean?" She slowly tugged her arm out of Zac's grip and turned to face him fully, putting her back to the door. Zac could see a flash of movement inside, which was probably his dad in the kitchen. He tried to look casual, like he and Mimmi were just having a chat. He slouched a bit, shoving a hand into his pocket.

"I mean, why wouldn't she have 'figured it out' before?" He made sarcastic air quotes with the fingers on his free hand.

Mimmi shot his fingers a puzzled look, but shrugged and grinned. She patted his arm. "Don't worry. the thing about land people is that if something doesn't make sense, they'll come up with a reasonable explanation so that it makes sense. We'll just say that Rita only knew you as her student, but when you started coming to her house because you made friends with her nieces, she got to know you better and started noticing things. Then I came and she put it all together. Presto!" She spread her arms wide and flourished her hands, like she was casting a spell.

Zac wasn't completely convinced. "This is a bad idea." It had been a bad idea from the start.

"It's too late now, your mum overheard us, so we've got to make the best of it," Mimmi lectured. She grabbed hold of his hand and Zac nearly pulled away, but she tightened her grip and squeezed in what he thought was supposed to be a reassuring manner. She tugged him up the grass. "Come on, little brother, let's do our best to give them nothing to question."

"Don't call me little," Zac countered immediately. "I'm bigger than you."

They were at the sliding glass doors and Zac's feet halted. Mimmi dropped his hand so she could pull the door open, having absolutely no compunctions about just walking straight inside. There was something to be said about mermaids, they were all very forward. Probably came with living in the open ocean. There were no doors and walls in the ocean.

Zac wondered for the hundredth time what it might have been like if he'd grown up like that. Never knowing land, or legs. Never having school and homework or having to work for money. No music or t.v. or internet. No sports. He wondered about what ifs a lot, now.

Like what if Nerissa suddenly showed up? Or what if someone discovered him - would he have to pack up and leave? Or worse, flee into the ocean, never to return?

_You'd not be leaving everything behind,_ a little part of his mind told him. He glanced at Mimmi, barely forcing back the scowl.

He didn't want her to be all that he had. He didn't want to be so torn between two completely different worlds.

At least, before, he'd known for certain where he belonged. He might have loved the sea and he might have despaired at giving it up, but he'd known in his heart that he belonged on land with his parents.

Now, he knew that wasn't true. He _didn't_ belong on land. He didn't belong here at all.

Mimmi said it didn't change anything, but it did, at least in the way he saw himself. She was right that he had gained something, but he thought maybe he had lost as well; lost his certainty, lost his sense of belonging. His self-identity.

He watched Mimmi's bright smile as his mother came to greet them. She really had nothing to lose by this. She gained a brother and lost nothing.

"Zac?"

Zac realised both his mother and his...Mimmi were watching him in concern. He blinked and smiled, "Sorry, yeah?"

He needed to stop over-thinking things. As soon as he did, he was back at square one again.

"I was just telling Mimmi how excited your father and I are to meet her!" Zac's mum informed him with more enthusiasm than he thought the situation warranted. "Isn't that right?" she called loudly.

"Still having trouble wrapping my head around it!" Zac's dad called back from the kitchen. His voice grew louder towards the end, and the next thing Zac knew, his dad had emerged from around the corner, wiping his hands on a dish cloth. He was suddenly surrounded by grinning family members.

"You must be Mimmi," he smiled, holding out his hand. Mimmi, having by now figured out that land people shook hands, grabbed it and pumped it perhaps a bit more enthusiastically than was proper. Zac's dad took it in stride. "Wow, look at you two. Can you believe it?"

_No,_ Zac thought grumpily. He wanted to say, "Shouldn't you have expected it more, knowing I was adopted all this time?" but held himself back. His parents were trying, and he knew he was supposed to be trying as well. It was just hard to let go of the resentment of being lied to all his life.

"Well, Mimmi, my wife tells me you like sea food, so we've got a nice piece of salmon and for starters I was thinking prawns."

"That sounds wonderful, Mr. Blakely," Mimmi beamed.

"Rob, please," Zac's dad said. "Let's not stand on ceremony."

"And call me Lauren," said Zac's mum, reaching out to pull Mimmi further into the house. "Zac, can you help your father bring out the plates?"

Zac turned on his heel and barely refrained from stomping into the kitchen.

And so began the most awkward and heart-stopping family dinner of his life.

* * *

By the end of dinner, Zac's heart had, in fact, stopped at least ten times, he'd had to take a panicked break in the bathroom just to sit and breathe, and he'd expected to be called out as a massive liar at least every other minute. Every time his parents asked Mimmi a question about her life, he half-expected her to say something wildly inappropriate that would result in a lot of uncomfortable questions.

It probably shaved at least a year off his life just making it through the first course, and that was before they got to dessert.

Mimmi, what school subjects do you like the most? Mimmi, what sports do you play? Mimmi, what movies do you like? Mimmi, what's Canada like? Where did you go to school, before?

Zac had to coach himself not to simply jump in and answer for her.

Then came the even harder questions after his mum brought out the pavlova. Once everyone had a generous helping of meringue, cream and fruit, Zac's parents turned to their shared past.

"Well, our mother disappeared when I was very young," Mimmi admitted as she poked at the pavlova, clearly not sure how to respond to such a strange food. "I don't remember much of her, just that she had long, dark hair, and really bright blue eyes. She used to sing to me a lot." She glanced over at Zac. "I don't remember her having Zac, so I didn't know I had a little brother until recently."

Zac's parents exchanged sympathetic looks. "Sweetheart, you're always welcome here. We think it's great that Zac has more family. We always wondered if we were depriving him of a sibling relationship by not having any more kids."

"Don't you mean _adopting_," Zac interjected before he could help himself. He stabbed at a raspberry viciously with the prongs of his fork.

Silence fell and Zac's mum's fork froze on her plate, as did the smile on her face. She glanced down, the corners of her mouth falling a bit. Zac's dad grimaced into his pavlova.

His mum put down her fork slowly as the silence persisted. Zac clenched his fingers around his own fork, emotions warring between feeling guilty and vindicated. He watched her face carefully. She sighed and sat back, mouth twisting. "Zac...you know if we could, we'd…"

"What? Take it back and hope I never found out?"

She put her hand to her face for a moment and breathed out heavily. "No," she said tightly, "I mean that I just wish you'd found out from us first, and that maybe we shouldn't have waited to tell you, but...when _would_ have been a good time? When you were too young to understand? Right now? We were _going_ to tell you."

Mimmi reached under the table and put a hand on his leg, patting it. Zac shifted out of the way, ignoring the way her hand fell limply back to her side. Her face fell just a little and she ducked her head, hair falling across her shoulder to cover her face.

"Zac," his dad sighed, "what do you want us to say? We're not going to ever be sorry we adopted you. We love you."

Zac wondered if they would say the same thing if they knew they'd adopted a _merman, _no matter what Mimmi claimed. "Okay, Dad," he said, but his smile was tight and strained.

"This," Mimmi exclaimed suddenly, a bit too loudly, "is delicious!" She chased a piece of meringue around her plate and piled it with cream and a strawberry. "What's it called again?"

Zac's parents quickly pounced on the new topic. As his mum explained what a pavlova was and how easy and simple it was to make and Mimmi listened attentively, Zac chased cream covered fruit around his plate, mashing it against the china but not eating it. When Mimmi continued to try desperately to break up the tension in the room by talking about food she'd tried, Zac slumped back in his chair.

How long was it going to be like this? How long until he could forgive them for lying? For them to stop tiptoeing around him? To get used to Mimmi?

How long until he stopped having these dark, depressing thoughts? Even knowing he was probably over-thinking things, he still worried. Yes, Mimmi had proved that finding out the truth wasn't the end of the world, because Cam and Evie hadn't turned tail and fled, but these were his _parents._

It was just different. And he worried.

Somehow, dessert managed to end on a slightly lighter note than it had started, as no one had dared bring up the topic of Zac's adoption and birth mother again. Zac didn't really participate in the conversation, and he automatically helped clear the table when they were finished. Just as automatically, he skirted the dishes in the sink and made sure to busy himself putting away food and clean utensils so that someone else would start the dishes and he wouldn't have to risk getting wet.

Mimmi stood in the doorway, glancing around with bright, inquisitive eyes.

"Zac, why don't you walk your s-sister back to Principal Santos's?" Mrs. Blakely stumbled for a second over the word 'sister' and Zac realised that she probably wasn't as cool with the situation as she was letting on. He looked at her in surprise for a moment, cupboard door open to put back the bottle of olive oil his dad had left out while cooking. She gave him an encouraging nod. "Don't worry, we've got the clean up. And maybe you could let Principal Santos know we'd love to have her over for tea some time, to talk."

Zac looked at Mimmi, eyebrows going up. She shrugged lightly, smile not dropping. Her look seemed to say 'don't worry'. Zac worried.

He put the olive oil on the shelf and shut the cupboard door. "Okay, Mum. Will do."

Mimmi reached for his hand as he drew closer across the kitchen. She did that a lot now, reaching for him, trying to touch him. She seemed to want to be as close as possible. "Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Blakely, for dinner!"

Zac's dad twisted away from the sink, rubber gloves dripping. Zac eyed the distance between them, despite that he was on the opposite side of the kitchen; dripping water always made him nervous. "Oh, it was our pleasure, Mimmi. Please, come by any time you want, you're always welcome here."

"Oh yes," said Zac's mum as she picked up a dish cloth to dry the newly cleaned dishes. "It was really lovely to meet you, Mimmi."

Zac used the hand already holding his to finally tug Mimmi away from his parents. As he dragged her out the door and down the slope of grass in their back garden, she exclaimed, "I _like_ your parents. Zac, you're very lucky you had such nice land people adopt you."

Zac's mouth pinched. He dragged her a bit quicker. "Yeah, until they find out I'm not human. _Don't_ say it," he added quickly, "maybe they will still love me, but it'll be different."

Mimmi suddenly dug her heels into the dirt, forcing him to slow down. He turned around. She gave him a pat on his hand with her free one and smiled sadly. "But it could have been so much worse, which is why I'm glad."

_Foster system_, whispered that cynical part of him. Foster care and constantly moving from place to place? No friends and no family? Zac shuddered. His taunt arm slackened as he sighed. He glanced over the marina. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mimmi patted his hand again, then suddenly strode past him, lips quirking. "Of course I'm right, I'm your _older_ sister." Then _she_ was the one dragging _him_ to Rita's.

* * *

_[2.22.15] Let me know if you catch any silly mistakes. Still not sure where I'm going with this. Time will tell.  
[3.22.15] fixed some typos, mild stylistic errors  
[5.35.15] Switched out Zac's mum's name to match canon_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the wait. Wasn't really sure how to continue. This chapter is a tad boring, mostly just a bit more of Zac trying to work through things. So, more of Mimmi and Zac interaction and Zac being sort of broody. Also introducing Evie! Hopefully I'm still keeping them in character._

* * *

3.

After yesterday's dinner, facing his friends and the 'looks' didn't seem so insurmountable anymore. Zac left for the café at his usual time Sunday morning, determined to actually enjoy the last of his weekend before he had to deal with school again.

"Zac!"

Zac barely had time to brace himself before Mimmi was attached to his side, beaming.

Was she stalking him or something?

He subtly tried shaking his arm, but she was latched on like a barnacle on rock.

"So I was thinking we could go out again today-" Mimmi began eagerly.

Zac drew up short, half way to the juice counter. David looked up from wiping down the glass and smiled. Zac nodded quickly, then attempted again to shake Mimmi off his arm. "I'm hanging out with Evie today," he said, nodding towards where Evie was just setting up shop and watching them out of the corner of her eye. He sent a hesitant smile her way from over Mimmi's braided hair, and her disposition changed immediately. She smiled widely in return and leaned against the counter, looking far more relaxed. Zac knew he must have been worrying her by being so withdrawn.

"Hey, Zac," said David as he walked over, cleaning cloth in hand, to pick up a left over cup from the empty table in front of them. "We missed you yesterday."

Zac tried for honest regret. He smiled and ran a hand briefly through his hair. "Oh, yeah, wasn't feeling well. Sorry, mate."

"No worries," David nodded, smiling easily. He was always eager to believe the best of people and Zac always felt a little guilty lying to him, even if it was necessary. "You're better then?" He paused in wiping off the table and held the glass in one hand as he gave Mimmi a confused look. "Uuuh, Mimmi, hey…"

Mimmi, Zac remembered, was still wrapped around him like an octopus. People were starting to give them funny looks. Mimmi didn't seem to notice, as she just smiled back, looking far too chipper and happy.

_Give her an inch and she'll take a mile,_ Zac thought dryly.

"Stick around," David said after a moment and another confused look at Mimmi's clinginess. "Sirena's coming in to practice this morning."

"Great!" Zac agreed quickly, trying once more futilely to tug his arm out of Mimmi's grasp. David clutched the glass and his cloth and wandered back to the café counter, puzzlement still marring his face.

A throat cleared behind them and Evie walked up, hands on her hips. She raised her eyebrows at Mimmi, but didn't say anything. Zac really wished she would, and did his best to give her a pleading 'help me' look. Her lips quirked and she merely smiled.

_Traitor,_ Zac thought.

She glanced between them. "So, you've worked it out then?"

"Yes!"

Zac's mouth snapped shut and he sighed. Evie seemed to finally catch on that this was more than just wanting to escape Mimmi's grasp, because she searched his face carefully, smile fading. "We'll talk later, then?" she asked slowly.

Zac agreed quickly. Evie nodded back, smiled at Mimmi, then indicated her register. "Gotta go."

He watched her walk back to her corner of the café, where Carly immediately hurried over - appearing out of nowhere as if by magic. They bent their heads together and started whispering. He couldn't hear what they were saying, and then in the next second he couldn't even see them, because Mimmi was dragging him to a table and pushing him into a seat. Zac felt very manhandled. He finally batted her hands away with a scowl. "Will you stop it?" he hissed.

Mimmi drew back sheepishly. "Sorry." Her hands fluttered in the air for a bit and she turned this way and that, glancing around until she caught sight of David just as he stood up from a crouch behind the counter, some new glasses in hand. "You hungry? Did you eat breakfast? I'll go order some prawns. Or crayfish? Seaweed salad?"

Zac stared at her, speechless. "What are you, my mother?" he snapped. "I'm fine!"

_What's happened to 'I won't push you'? _he wondered.

Mimmi blinked at him, energetic hands freezing for a second. Her face fell. Zac heard the rustle of cloth and the shuffle of footsteps on the linoleum over his shoulder and then Carly was there, looming over him. She glanced between them, smile a little fixed. "Hi, Zac. ...Mimmi. Can I get you anything?"

Zac wanted to put his head on the table and just pretend he wasn't there. Why was Mimmi being so _clingy_? Why couldn't she just act like everything was normal? She was making a scene and people would talk and then…

He didn't think he could handle school if the newest and most interesting rumour floating around was that Zac was adopted. Or that he had a magically appearing sister.

"Prawns," Mimmi decided and Zac muffled his groan by running a hand over his face. When he glanced up again, Carly was looking at him, lips pulled down in an unconscious frown. Her eyes flickered to Mimmi and back, eyebrow raising. Zac tried to shrug it off, but when she turned on her heel and left, he got the feeling Evie was going to corner him later and tell him about how Carly was getting suspicious. Then again, with how strangely he and Cam (and now Evie) had been acting over the past half a year or so, Zac was surprised Carly hadn't written them all off as insane.

Mimmi finally took a seat, sliding into the one opposite Zac and leaning forwards over the table, eyes back to being bright and cheerful. "So, today you're spending with Evie, but when do you want to swim again? I've got lots more things to tell you."

Zac leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, giving her a strained smile. "Umm...Mimmi…"

Her eyes flickered past him to land on someone coming into the café. Zac saw a flash of blue and blonde out of the corner of his eye and when he twisted his head, he saw Erik in a blue polo shirt hurry through the door. He paused when he drew up next to them, nodding at Zac. "Hey," he greeted, and then power walked past them. Zac turned to watch him as he sidled behind the counter and David emerged from the cool room to scowl at him. "_Twenty minutes!_" Zac heard, before David's voice lowered and Erik ducked his head, nodding. He didn't appear to be particularly repentant. One of these days, David was going to fire him.

Mimmi twisted in her seat to watch as well. She put her chin in her hand and shook her head slowly. "I bet he was out swimming with Ondina again." She turned back around, eyes glinting, a sly smile curling across her face. "They're not fooling anyone. Any more 'swimming' and they might as well be...what's the word?"

Zac's eyebrow rose. "What, dating?"

Mimmi snapped her fingers, nodding into her hand. "Yes! That's the one! They're _dating_."

Zac's eyes travelled back to Erik as he dutifully took command of the register under David's exasperated eye. "I thought Ondina was mad at him?"

"Oh. Well, maybe."

Zac raised his eyebrows pointedly.

Mimmi pursed her lips, chin jutting forward on her hand. "Do you think we can trust him?" she whispered, searching his face for the answer. Zac glanced at Erik again. "Zac, he did lie to Ondina," Mimmi added under her breath, still watching him carefully.

Zac's mouth twisted. He dropped his gaze to the table, eyes tracing the juice menu standing upright between them. He scratched his neck. "He, uh, I kinda asked him to help. We all wanted to know why I kept getting drawn to the chamber and what it all meant. Erik said finding out was more important."

Mimmi peeked over her shoulder. "I know he likes Ondina a lot. I hope that's enough." When she turned back around, she sat back in her chair and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I guess we'll have to see."

Carly re-emerged from the back, carrying a plate. She headed for their table and put down the platter of prawns with a look between them. "Here you go. Anything else? A juice?"

"No, thanks!" Mimmi leaned over the platter eagerly, eying the prawns.

Carly turned and headed straight for Evie's shop. Zac pretended to sit up and stretch out his arms, yawning, so he could twist around and see. Sure enough, she had her head bent next to Evie's and turned to shoot Zac and Mimmi a look. Zac quickly finished his stretch, but not before he caught Evie's eye and raised an eyebrow. Evie rolled her eyes at him, darting a look at Mimmi.

Zac turned back around, settling back with a frown. Mimmi watched him, prawn half-way to her mouth. She glanced over at Evie and Carly. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He hoped.

Mimmi shoved the plate at him. "Have a prawn."

* * *

It wasn't nothing. Sirena came and went, Zac shared a lunch break with Evie and then went back home to get some homework done. At the end of the day, after heading back for the end of Evie's shift, David approached him and tried to speak to him privately. Ondina, who had arrived sometime between Zac leaving and coming back, was having none of it. She hovered protectively over their shoulders as she split her time between him and sending unreadable looks at Erik. Her eyes darted between them intently.

David tried to indicated that they should step to the side, but Ondina began to follow.

"Um, I want to speak to Zac in private, if you don't mind?" David tried to say as politely as possible.

Ondina gave him one of her looks. The one that plainly stated, 'yes, I mind'. David sighed and glanced over his shoulder at where Evie was locking up the shop register, then over at Carly who was wiping up some tables and collecting used juice glasses. Erik caught their eye from the counter and raised a hand to Ondina. She made an angry face at him. His expression fell and he heaved a sigh and began another hand sign. Ondina crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

Zac jerked his head to the side and they stepped a few feet over while Ondina was distracted. David lowered his voice right down to a whisper. "Zac, what's going between you and Mimmi?"

Zac choked on air. "Wh-what?" he spluttered, glancing around quickly. His movements drew Ondina's attention back and she marched up to them, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed. She glared at David, like he'd committed a crime by putting Zac on the spot. David leaned back a little from Ondina's fierce expression.

Zac felt like he hadn't just gained one sister, but two, what with the way that Mimmi and Ondina were never far apart. Two _overbearing_ and _nosy_ sisters at that. He shot Ondina a glare of his own and she raised an eyebrow.

Naturally, that was the moment that Mimmi chose to return to the café. Zac sent a quick, pleading look at the ceiling, asking for some kind of divine intervention to prevent an awkward situation. Why was it that the café seemed to be the stomping grounds of every mermaid on the Gold Coast?

"Ondina, there you are," Mimmi exclaimed, hurrying over. "Rita wanted me to tell you… Oh, hi, David!" She gave him a sweet smile and fell silent. Whatever Rita wanted had to be mermaid business. "Zac!" Then she leaned over and put an arm around his shoulders in an awkward one-sided hug. It only lasted about two seconds, but it was long enough for David's mouth to drop open slightly.

Zac wished the ocean would open up beneath them and just swallow him whole. He closed his eyes and counted down from ten in his head, just so he wouldn't yell at her for being so completely _obvious_.

"Zac?" David hissed, voice strangled.

"Zac?" His name sure was popular. Evie sidled up to them, glancing between them all with a polite, if confused, smile. She nodded at Ondina and Mimmi. "Hi, girls."

David gaped at Evie, head whipping between her and Mimmi and then back again when Evie did nothing further but smile. "Ready to go?" She asked him instead.

Zac nodded quickly. He was so ready to go. In fact he wanted to be gone five minutes ago. "Talk later, David!"

He grabbed Evie's hand and legged it out of there. David gazed after them with a lost expression on his face. Mimmi glanced at Ondina, shrugged, then tugged her away. Zac threw a look over his shoulder just once on the way out the door. David was watching them both with a furrowed brow.

"Zac?" Evie wondered as he powered down the dock. "What's wrong?"

"David's suspicious," Zac snapped, glancing around quickly as he led them down towards the water. "He was asking me what was going on between me and Mimmi."

"She's not exactly subtle," Evie agreed easily. She let him drag her to the edge of the dock and twisted a look over her shoulder for anyone watching. He let go of her hand and nodded at the water. She shrugged, smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "So, I take it you're feeling better."

Zac paused at the edge.

"About all...this." She waved her hand vaguely, but Zac didn't need to be a genius to work out what she was talking about.

He stepped back from the edge slightly, glancing down at the water lapping at the sea-crusted wood of the floating dock.

Evie put a hand on his shoulder, expression soft with concern. "Zac, I know you haven't been in the water since...since you found out."

Zac scuffed a foot along the wood and looked out over the water. There was Mako, far in the distance. He spared her a look. "I went out with Mimmi, yesterday," he confessed.

Evie's hand dropped off his shoulder as a smile crept over her face. "Good. I'm glad. This doesn't change anything, you know. Just...be yourself. Remember," she teased, stepping back towards the edge, "I like you for _who_ you are, not _what_ you are."

Zac rolled his eyes. Right, like that one didn't get old. But he found himself grinning in spite of himself.

Evie reached for his hand and tugged him forward again until she was standing balanced right on the edge. She did a quick one-eighty of the docks and the café patrons, and then satisfied that no one was watching, let go quickly and stepped backwards. The water engulfed her with a quick splash that sprayed Zac's legs.

He glanced once more over his shoulder and all he spotted was Ondina and Mimmi, standing at the railing watching. Mimmi waved at him, and Zac quickly turned back around and dove off the edge before the change could take hold.

Evie was waiting for him, long golden-red tail twitching gently in the water, hair a dark halo around her head. He couldn't help but think she looked especially beautiful like this. She struck him as ephemeral, like a mysterious dream that might disappear upon waking. She raised an eyebrow at him when all he did was stare, then held out her hand.

Zac took it, but his mind was stuck on a loop of thought. In a way Evie _was_ ephemeral. Being a mermaid might not be permanent for her - at the next full moon or the one after, they could quite possibly change her back. Zac, on the other hand, would always be a merman. A selfish part of him wanted her to stay like this. The problem was that he didn't have the right to make that decision for her. He knew that despite how she was growing to enjoy being a mermaid, she ultimately still wanted to change back.

He'd miss doing this. Swimming with her, watching her hair float freely in the water, unburdened by scuba gear. He'd miss the sparkling flash of her scales as well.

He wondered, then, if she ever did get changed back...would she still want to be with him, knowing that he would never be normal again? That he was forever and always stuck with a tail?

Having that kind of secret to hide was a burden. She had her heart set on the fashion industry, and a fashion designer in the spotlight had no place for a secret merman boyfriend.

He realised she'd led them both to the moon pool when she let go of his hand and ducked through the opening under the rock shelf. Zac floated there for a second as a fish swam past his face, watching her golden tail disappear into the shadows.

With a lazy kick of his fin, he followed her inside.

"Hey," she greeted when he surfaced. She leaned back against the pool ledge and let her tail float on the buoyancy of the water. "So, you talked to Mimmi, right?" She watched him settle a few feet away. "What did you guys talk about?"

Zac grabbed the upper ledge and pressed his forehead against the back of his hand. "Evie," he groaned. "Can we...talk about something else?"

Evie scooted closer. "I think you should talk about it. You can't just ignore it."

He'd complained when they'd tiptoed around him, afraid to mention the events of the full moon. Now he'd prefer if Evie still thought she needed to tread lightly on his feelings. He sighed into his hand and pushed away from the ledge, floating into the middle of the pool. "Look, Mimmi came over, we talked...my mum overheard some stuff-" he paused when Evie gasped.

"What?" she yelped, pushing up on her elbows in alarm. "Overheard what!"

"Whoa!" He held up his hands. "Don't worry, no mer-stuff. Just...um...she knows about Mimmi. I mean, that she's my sister." He ran a hand through his hair. "It was really awkward, they invited her to dinner and then practically interrogated her."

Evie gaped. "Oh my god, Zac, you have to be careful what you say!"

"I know!" he snapped. Then, more softly, "I know, okay? We didn't say anything about how we found out, only that Rita figured it out. She'll be able to come up with a good story."

Evie relaxed back against the ledge. "I hope you're right. Wow, this is…"

"Complicated?"

They both snorted at the same time.

"Complicated is a good word for it," Zac agreed dryly.

Evie shook her head, sighing. "Wow. I'm so sorry, Zac. This has been such a crazy week, for you especially."

Zac drifted back over to the ledge, folding his arms on the lip of the pool. He relaxed against the smooth stone. "I'm hoping this is the last of it - the craziness, that is. Mimmi and I still need to get our stories straight with Rita, but after that…"

"No more drama."

Zac didn't reply. There was still the merman chamber to contend with. The question of why he was connected to it and why he and Mimmi were sharing such intense visions. There was the worry that Veridia wasn't done - that she'd gather help and come back. He wanted to believe she was gone for good, but with the kind of luck he had, he wasn't counting on it. "I don't think that's possible," he murmured into his arms, burying his head with sigh.

He forced his mind away from such worries. Dwelling on them only filled him with regrets and even more worries.

The water lapped and sloshed until a smooth hand settled on his spine, rubbing slowly. "You'll get through this, Zac, I know you will."

Zac twisted around and Evie reached out her arms. They met in the middle, Zac drawing Evie closer until they were hugging. He'd never hugged another mer-person before as a merman. It was strangely intimate - wet skin on wet skin, tails brushing lightly. He realised that she was essentially naked. His scales tingled and he wanted to press himself closer; kiss her.

Remembering himself, he quickly let go, fighting against the blush he could feel heating his skin. Even Evie looked a bit flustered. He smiled quickly - a small, wry thing - and turned back to the ledge. "Yeah, thanks," he said, having to clear his throat to get the words out. He knew he sounded awkward.

Evie scooted back down the ledge so that there was a more respectable distance between them. Zac had to remind himself not to think about how she was wearing nothing more than scales. Then he had to fight not to think about her scales; how they sparkled and how smooth they felt against his own.

_Stop,_ he thought firmly. _You're trying to have a serious discussion, not a potential make out session. Make out later, when you're not both basically naked._

"So, uh," Evie cleared her throat into the silence. "Shall I have a talk with Mimmi for you?"

Zac turned, frowning. "What?"

Evie rolled her eyes. "I know your desperate face, Zac. Earlier today, that was your desperate face."

He flicked a couple of drops of water at her. "Yeah, no thanks for not helping!"

Evie laughed, pushing off the ledge until she was out of range, and then shoved a whole wave of water at him. It crashed over his chin, going into his mouth, and he spluttered in surprise. Evie grinned impishly. "Oh, I don't know, you two looked so _cozy._ It was cute!"

Zac ran a hand through his hair. "She's too...too _much_. I can't…"

Evie swam back over and put both hands on his shoulders, peering at him firmly. "Zac. It's okay, I'll talk to her. I'll even use the 'land people think such behaviour is strange' excuse, okay?"

He let out a heavy sigh, feeling like a huge weight had lifted. He hadn't wanted to confront Mimmi again. Dealing with her these days was just so emotionally draining. He was done with emotions right now. He couldn't handle any more upheavals.

"Thanks," he murmured, grabbing her hand and squeezing.

Evie suddenly darted her head forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, then let go, drifting back again. "What are girlfriends for?" she teased, softly, eyes smiling.

Zac caught her hand again before she could get too far. He held on tightly as her expression turned questioning. He looked her straight in the eye, "I mean it, you're the best. Thanks for putting up with...well, everything." He took a deep breath. "Anyone else...anyone else would have dumped me ages ago, I know." He waved a hand around the moon pool, including himself. "You've put up with so much craziness, sometimes I can't believe you're still here, but-"

Evie reached out and put a finger to his lips, eyes solemn. "Zac, stop. I care about you and nothing - not mermaids and magic and adoptions - is going to change that, okay?"

He laughed, shaking his head. She didn't get how amazing she was, but that was okay. He'd just have to make sure he never took her for granted. "Okay. Thank you, anyway."

Evie smiled, satisfied. "You're welcome."

* * *

_[3.22.15] This chapter is shorter, but I'd written more and then decided to split it into two, so the next one will be out shortly, as soon as I decide whether I like the direction its going or not. If anyone has any comments or suggestions about characterisation or plot, now would be the time._


	4. Chapter 4

_I've had this sitting on my hard drive for ages, I just didn't get around to putting it up because I wasn't completely happy with the way I wrote Zac in this. But, I figure I'm not getting the time to re-write it any time soon so I might as well post it. I might replace the chapter later, when I've time. April has been such a busy month for me, so you'll have to excuse the wait times. (May, as well.) Anyway, Enjoy!_

* * *

4.

Zac hovered at the entrance of the grotto with a kind of nervous trepidation. He actually hadn't spoken to Rita properly since the full moon's revelation. At least, not about anything other than school work. She had tried to corner him a few times between classes, but he'd done his best to avoid her.

Now though, questions swarmed his mind. The more he allowed himself to think on the situation, the more he questioned how much Rita actually knew. How did she figure it out? Why wouldn't she say that she suspected something? How _long_ had she suspected something?

They needed to get their story straight - all of them. Figure out who was related to who and how, before his parents started asking the hard questions.

Zac took a deep breath and started up the stairs.

"Hi," he greeted the small gathering seated around the grotto, feeling a tad awkward and uncertain. The last time he'd been here, he'd declared that he wanted nothing to do with any of them and stormed out.

If he expected sideways looks or annoyance, he didn't get it. Instead, everyone simply smiled and greeted him like there was nothing out of the ordinary. Zac felt an undeniable relief. If they continued to act like this, then...maybe he could do this after all. He returned the smiles with a hesitant one of his own and made his way down into the grotto proper.

Where he encountered a problem. Both Evie and Mimmi were looking at him with expectant expressions. He glanced between them, stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he sat with Evie, Mimmi would get all despondent...but he really didn't feel like putting up with Mimmi's bonding attempts right now.

Instead, he simply settled back against a wall and crossed his arms, pretending like he had planned all along to simply stand at a distance. Rita turned back to the room at large and cleared her throat. "Alright then, mermaids, and mer_man_," she added with a slightly teasing look in Zac's direction, "we need to arrange a cover story for Zac and Mimmi's relationship to keep his parents from asking questions."

Ondina kicked her feet lazily. "You mean we need to pretend to be one big happy family?"

Rita paused. "Yes, essentially."

Ondina slid Zac a narrow-eyed look. "I'm game, if he's game."

"Ondina," Mimmi hissed, elbowing her friend lightly. "Of course he is. That's why we're here."

Sirena glanced between them with pursed lips.

"Um," said Evie, raising her hand. "What about me?"

Rita nodded. "The more people keeping the story consistent, the better." She paused and twisted around to look at Zac. "Zac, wouldn't you like to take a seat?"

Zac sighed. Then, because Mimmi was already sitting next to Ondina and making it past Rita, the table and Sirena would be more trouble than it was worth, he sat at the very end of the ledge. Which just so happened to be next to Evie. At least, that's what he told himself. He didn't look at Mimmi.

Rita clapped her hands lightly, palms rubbing together. "Okay, good. This is what we tell anyone who asks-"

"Anyone?" Zac blurted out, sitting up sharply. "What? No. No one else has to know. This...I don't want it spread all over school or-" Evie's hand on his arm stopped him and he cut off, clearing his throat. He hunkered back down, frowning.

Across the room, Mimmi looked down, biting her lip. Ondina put a hand on her arm and glared at Zac. Sirena, at least, seemed to understand his feelings, because she shot him a sympathetic look.

"Of course," Rita said, making both Zac and Mimmi look over in surprise. "We don't want to be spreading it around. The less people know, the less people asking questions." At this, she looked at Mimmi squarely and Mimmi sighed lightly before nodding. Zac could see that she'd rather shout their connection from the rooftops, but she wasn't about to risk their cover. He was grateful, at least, that this could stay a secret. It would be just between them - no one else had to know. No one else had to butt their noses into his business.

So they hashed out a good cover story. It took a while, as they all had to remember what they'd already told other people about their 'family' - who was related to who and how - in order to make sure they weren't going to contradict anything they'd already said. In the end, Rita became Mimmi's (and therefore Zac's) aunt on their mother's side. Apparently Rita now had a very large family, if anyone asked, because Lyla, Sirena, Nixie and Ondina had never pretended to be siblings. Rita's newest 'sister', Nerissa, had moved to Canada a long time ago, which is why Mimmi sounded Canadian. She came back to Australia after several years, leaving Mimmi with 'family friends', and no one had known she was pregnant. She had had Zac, eventually gave him up for adoption for reasons unknown, and then left again, mysteriously disappearing.

If you asked Zac, when you didn't have the perspective of 'oh, and by the way, we're all merpeople', it made Nerissa sound completely crazy and heartless. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and not even Evie's hand on his leg could calm him down. When Rita asked both him and Mimmi if there was anything they wanted to add, Zac leapt to his feet and turned on his heel, pacing a few steps just to release the angry tension clenching his muscles. "She sounds completely mad," he snapped. "Land people don't abandon their kids just because they're boys! She sounds like a...a…"

Mimmi watched him with wide, knowing eyes. "She abandoned me too, Zac," she said softly.

Zac snorted and turned around, crossing his arms defensively. "Exactly."

Rita glanced between them, brow furrowed. "Zac...Mimmi...You have to understand, having you is forbidden. No mermaid can have a merman son. When the news got out...the council…" Rita trailed off and closed her eyes to compose herself. She raised her chin, opening her eyes and fixing first Zac, then Mimmi with a firm look. Zac swallowed. He wasn't going to like this, he knew it.

"Mimmi probably would have been about three or four, and you, Zac, two or three-" Zac jolted in shock. _Two or three?_ She'd kept him? She'd kept him that long? Rita didn't notice his shock, and continued talking, "but when the Council found out, I imagine Nerissa had no choice but to flee with you. Mimmi was in no danger, so she was left with the pod, but your mother would have had to hide you from whoever the Council sent to…" Rita trailed off, looking upset and apologetic.

"Sent to what?" Evie asked, voice wavering. She stared at Zac with a kind of ghostly tinge to her face. He knew she knew what Rita refused to say. They both knew. Neither of them were naive enough not to figure it out.

Rita hesitated.

"Sent to get rid of him," Ondina declared grimly when no one else would. When Mimmi made a wounded noise in the back of her throat, Ondina quickly reached down and grabbed her hand. She turned an expectant look to Rita and Rita reluctantly nodded.

Sirena gasped, hand over her mouth. "No! How could they?" she whispered into the tense atmosphere.

For some reason, such revelations didn't surprise him as much as the thought that for the first two or three years of his life, he had been...what? A merman? A little...baby with a fish tail? He was having trouble picturing it.

For the first two or three years of his life, had he really lived with...with Mimmi and Nerissa? Had they been a...a _family?_

He felt like someone had punched all the breath out of his lungs and then simply walked away.

Shakily, Mimmi asked, "W-why don't I remember Zac?" Ondina patted her hand again and Mimmi sent her a small smile of thanks. Sirena sat up straighter, eyes darting between Mimmi and Zac with open interest.

Rita sighed. "You were very young, Mimmi. Only a year older than Zac. That you remember anything at all is a miracle. You likely only remember Nerissa because the pod helped you keep her memory alive. No one would have said anything about Zac - if they even knew at all." She glanced at Zac, nodding at him. "Zac completely forgot that he was adopted. Or not human. Children forget things easily, especially traumatic things like…"

"Being abandoned," Zac finished, voice hoarse. Suddenly, his feet didn't feel like they could hold up his weight. He collapsed next to Evie and put his head in his hands.

There was a heavy silence. Next to him, Evie's hand twitched, but she didn't try to pry his hands away from their tight grip in his hair. Zac scrubbed his face and closed his eyes, wishing he didn't have to deal with this. How many _more_ emotional surprises could he take before... he didn't even know what before. He was so mixed up inside that he didn't even know what he was feeling anymore. He mostly just felt numb.

To think that he had been old enough to probably call her mother and she'd just...left him.

Eventually, into the silence, Rita spoke. Her voice was soft, and a little distant. "I remember when word got out that Nerissa had a son as well as a daughter. There was a huge uproar of those in the know. The Council tried to tamp down on the news so I imagine that's why you girls knew nothing, but it didn't surprise me that Nerissa disappeared shortly after with her son and no one ever saw her again." She breathed out heavily. "I had no idea she'd left him here of all places, right under my nose."

"Sometimes," Evie paused when everyone jolted and turned to stare at her, as if surprised by her existence. Her cheeks dusted a slight pink and she cleared her throat. "Um, sometimes, it's easier to hide things in plain sight."

Zac finally dragged his head up. He sat up slowly, feeling sluggish and over-wrought, despite that he was so confused he no longer knew whether to feel angry, sad, hurt, happy, pleased…

"Until now," Rita continued grimly, "the various Councils have never known what became of Nerissa and her son. It is likely why they never thought to look for him here..." She paused and her face seemed to age. She looked at Zac like she was asking for forgiveness. "Zac, now that Veridia knows you're here...you and Mimmi...you both need to be careful. Veridia may not return herself, but others may come…" She trailed off, frowning further. "Hopefully, they won't want to risk going up against the both of you. You're grown, now, and powerful."

Mimmi nodded determinedly. "I won't let anyone hurt Zac," she declared.

Zac grimaced. He didn't need _protecting_.

"They'll have to go through me, too," Ondina declared, turning to Mimmi with bright, determined eyes. Mimmi smiled tremulously and gripped her hand.

Zac was honestly too emotionally exhausted to muster up any kind of reaction to Ondina's declaration beyond a sigh.

"And me," Sirena threw in, expression fierce. She exchanged her own look with the girls and they all smiled at one another.

Rita looked around them all with pride. "Good. I'm glad you're all going to be looking out for one another. Do that, and you should all be safe."

There was another grim sort of silence as the weight of the news they'd just received sunk in. Zac leaned back against the ledge and closed his eyes. He couldn't just have a normal life, could he? He couldn't even have one problem to worry about. On top of keeping his parents in the dark about Mimmi and his origins, now he had to worry about crazy mermaids popping up trying to _kill_ him?

"And Erik?" Sirena added, suddenly, and Zac let out a long sigh.

And then there was Erik and the chamber. So three problems, really.

Things were so much simpler when all he had to worry about were his school report cards. He wondered what might have happened if the girls had actually found a way to take away his tail - would any of this have happened? Or would they have left and Zac gone back to his life - never the wiser, never knowing of his past and of Mimmi? He wondered if he might have been happier like that, even if he would have spent the rest of his life feeling like something was missing.

Was missing a piece of himself really worth all these worries and stresses? The _danger?_

He turned the thought over and over in his head, frowning, as Ondina began to loudly declare her feelings of betrayal over Erik.

Zac reached up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He dragged his attention back to the conversation long enough to interject, "He told me figuring out the truth about the chamber was bigger than his promise to you." When Ondina set her jaw mulishly and glared down at her feet, Mimmi shot him a helpless look. He shrugged. "If you want to blame someone, blame me. I decided to ignore you guys and go to the chamber."

Ondina's scowl deepened. Mimmi sighed. Sirena exchanged a look with Evie. She had been with her that night in the moon pool and they had all had to fill them in on the night's startling revelations after the fact.

Rita glanced between them. "Erik is...probably not our biggest concern right now. Keep an eye on him, but… I doubt he knows anything or wants to do anyone harm. Just be careful," she added, again, like she had to drill the idea into their heads. Evie was nodding seriously but Ondina just looked increasingly annoyed at the repeated mention of Erik.

Erik was not Zac's biggest worry by a mile. Keeping his parents' curiosity about Mimmi and his past sated was one, and second was the chamber, or maybe it should be the potential mermaid assassins? It was too much. He hadn't asked for any of this. He hadn't asked to be a merman or to be hated. He hadn't asked to be connected to the stupid chamber. He hadn't asked for Mimmi to show up and create havoc in his family life.

Everything would be so much easier if he had never fallen into the moon pool. He wondered again; was finding out the truth really, truly worth all these burdens? He put his head in his hands, clutching it roughly. Not even a pat from Evie could mollify him.

"Okay," Rita declared eventually and Zac could almost feel the heat of her gaze on him. "I think we're finished here. I've got school, and I'm sure you girls have things to do…" she trailed off invitingly and there was a general shuffle of agreement and the sound of clothes rustling.

Zac raised his head, trying to look like he wasn't in the middle of yet another internal crisis.

"I've got to get to school, I need to check on the paper before class," Evie announced, standing and stepping past Zac. "Does anyone want to walk there with me?"

Sirena shot up quickly. "I will!"

Ondina and Mimmi exchanged knowing looks and Ondina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, go find lover boy."

Sirena sniffed and tossed her hair lightly. "Don't be jealous because David is actually trustworthy."

Zac was actually drawn out of his spiralling thoughts for a moment at the sound of such a barb coming from Sirena. She didn't get defensive like that often - usually she was calm and sweet-tempered. He glanced between the three girls, wondering if something was going on, or maybe it was just usual girl antics.

"Well maybe I'll go find Erik, too, then, and get some answers," Ondina shot back before standing with a huff and stomping around the table.

"Zac?" Evie asked him carefully from the stairs, eyes creased with worry.

Zac smiled wanly. "Go ahead...I'll...meet you later."

She hesitated on the steps for a moment until Sirena joined her and then they both turned to leave.

Mimmi finally stood as well, though she bit her lip and watched Zac as she hovered in place uncertainly.

Ondina stalked up the stairs after Evie and Sirena, but turned when Mimmi continued to hover. She raised an eyebrow, eyes darting between them. Zac just wished she'd leave. Mimmi as well. He didn't have the energy for another heart to heart with Mimmi.

Mimmi took a step towards him. Zac climbed to his feet and quickly turned away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rita glance between them carefully.

"Zac," Mimmi began. "Zac, can we-"

"Not now," Zac interrupted quickly. He turned back around. "Just...not right now. Please."

Mimmi hesitated once more. Zac nearly groaned. He contained his exasperation, instead saying, "I'll find you later. Okay?"

Mimmi darted glances between him and Rita and seemed to come to some kind of conclusion, because she smiled and nodded. "Okay, we'll talk later." As she skirted the table for the stairs, she sent one last glance over her shoulder at him and smiled again. Zac automatically returned it. This seemed to satisfy her, because the next thing he knew, her skirt was disappearing around the corner and he was alone with Rita.

Rita crossed her arms, both eyebrows raised. "Something to ask me, Zac?"

"I...no," he replied slowly. He had only wanted some alone time. In waiting for the girls to leave first, it merely meant he could go his own separate way. He just needed a moment to process.

Rita cocked her head, lips pursing slowly. "Are you sure?" Her eyes softened. "Zac...tell me honestly, how are you doing?"

The automatic 'fine' nearly escaped his mouth, but he swallowed it back at the last second. His mouth opened and shut again. He wasn't fine. "I dunno, how would you be, in my shoes?"

Rita sighed, arms dropping. She approached him slowly, chin tilting just slightly because he was a few inches taller. She searched his eyes carefully. "I think…" she said slowly, "it will take time. It's hard to process now, but I promise it'll get easier."

He snorted and turned away, wandering over to one of the many ledges full of mer knick-knacks. He picked up a conch shell and turned it over in his hands. "Easy for you to say." He put the shell down roughly, spinning to brace himself on the ledge. "All of this...everything...if I hadn't fallen into the moonpool, none of this would have happened - any of it."

Rita hesitated, mouth parting. She seemed to debate something, Zac could see the calculation in her eyes. Eventually, she merely agreed, "Maybe you're right. Maybe the island wouldn't have awoken."

Zac grimaced and crossed his arms. He had been referring more to Mimmi and his past, but… The question hovered on the tip of his tongue, begging to be asked. It was just a thought. A crazy thought. But it had been festering their entire conversation. He wouldn't _have_ to worry about all these things if he wasn't a merman. And it had been done before. He could go back. He could...give this all up. "What…" He licked his lips, hesitating, then ploughed ahead. "What if there's a way to put back the spell? To give me legs...permanently?"

He wanted it - he wanted the normalcy, the lure of a nice, easy, stress-free life - and at the same time, the idea repulsed him. Give up the ocean? His tail? How could he ever contemplate such a thing?

It might be the numbness talking.

Rita's eyes widened and she jerked forward a few hasty steps. "Oh, Zac." Her fingers curled forward in the air, reaching, like she wanted to grasp him or hug him. "It doesn't work like that. That was powerful magic Nerissa used, but…" She shook her head slowly, hand dropping to her side. She glanced away, mouth thinning with a small grimace. "Extremely powerful magic. I was banished to land...don't you think the council would have taken my tail if they could have?"

Zac's breath caught. He arms dropped slowly to his sides. "What?"

Rita wrapped an arm around her middle, eyes slightly unfocused. "Banishing me to land is risky when I still have a tail, Zac, but to perform such a spell...it's not just a matter of preventing me from getting a tail." She turned slightly wide eyes on him. "Don't you understand? A mermaid with legs is still a mermaid. She still has powers...craves seafood...needs the ocean. Needs water."

A nervous stirring in Zac's gut told him he wouldn't like where she was going with this. In fact...he was pretty sure he knew where she was going with this and… He swallowed. "A-are you saying...that…" He glanced down at his feet. "That these...I mean, that before, before the moon pool-"

"You were human?" Rita interrupted his stuttering. Zac swallowed back the rest of his shock and nodded.

"Essentially, yes," she said. "Nerissa's spell didn't just give you legs...it turned you human. It was an extraordinarily powerful transformation spell, the likes of which no other mermaid could have been capable of."

Zac breathed out and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "So...so I wasn't always a merman?"

Or was it that he was a merman, and then a human…and now back to merman again? He covered his eyes. This was getting far too confusing.

Rita sighed and reached out to place a hand on his arm. His hand dropped quickly and he looked up through weary eyes. "You were always a merman, Zac. You were born a merman and now that the spell has broken, you will always be a merman. There's no going back. I doubt Nerissa could cast such a spell again, even if we could find her. I also doubt she'd agree."

Zac closed his eyes, just breathing. "Never?"

Rita's hand left a sudden cool spot on his skin as it dropped away. "Always," she said, instead. "Exactly who you're meant to be."

Something clenched in his gut and yet...there was something else that felt oddly like relief. Relief that this - his power, his _identity -_ couldn't be taken from him again. He clenched a hand tightly. Even if he was currently struggling to figure out what that identity was… They couldn't take it again.

His tail was his. Forever. The ocean was his.

He felt a bit like a dark cloud had broken over head and the sun was shining through to warm him.

"What if…what if I hadn't fallen into the moon pool that night?" he asked, voice nearly a whisper. He shouldn't be asking 'what ifs' - what ifs only made things worse.

"Spells like that aren't meant to last forever," Rita said gently. "You were and are always a merman." Her eyes flickered down and her chin jerked in the same direction. "You weren't born with those legs, Zac. They're not who you really are." Her gaze moved back up to his, eyes slightly hooded and wary.

Zac stared back, every word she spoke like someone was winding a bow string tighter and tighter in his chest. Slowly, he looked down at his legs. Intellectually, he'd known that they were...that they weren't his _original_ form, but to hear it put so bluntly was a shock. Subconsciously, when he pictured himself, he didn't picture his tail, he pictured his legs. That was him - Zac-with-legs. Just like every other normal kid.

Except it wasn't. He wasn't. He wasn't even supposed to have those legs, but he did. He wiggled his toes - the toes he wasn't supposed to even have. The toes he only had as a result of _magic. _

Rita's hand found its way to his shoulder and squeezed. "If you need to talk - about anything…"

"Yeah, okay," Zac mumbled. Talk to his principal? Although he supposed, now, that Rita was his 'aunt'.

She must have been thinking along the same lines, because her lips quirked wryly and she added, "After all, we're apparently family now."

Zac shot her an apologetic glance. He doubted that Rita had ever wanted to get so involved with all of them. She had started off free of drama and now she had a constant influx of mermaid 'nieces' invading her home at all hours. And now a merman 'nephew' as well. He waved a hand weakly. "Sorry...about all..._this._"

Rita shrugged. She stepped back. "Honestly, I'm glad. My life may be more hectic, but it's also a lot less lonely." She paused, her expression considering. "Sometimes," she began, with the air of someone imparting sage advice, "what seems like a bad thing turns out to be just what you didn't even know you needed. Change can be hard, at first. But when you look back, you realise you'd do it all over again."

He wasn't stupid, he knew what she was getting at. His lips pressed together tightly.

Rita's look was knowing. "Just...think about it."

And with that, she left.

* * *

_[28/4/15] Like I said, not my best chapter. May still have typos. I planned to edit this extensively but I just never could find the time, so I'm just copying and pasting it as it is. Hopefully it wasn't too bad!_


	5. Chapter 5

_So here it is, the final chapter. At least of this particular story. The next half of season 2 is coming out soon...who else is excited for that? I guess this fic will be officially AU soon! Anyway, enjoy the conclusion. And thanks for reading._

* * *

5.

Zac thought about it. He thought about a lot of things, especially during class. He didn't hear a word of his maths lecture, nor his history class. He somehow made it to lunch without getting called out on his inattention.

Lunch time seemed just around the corner. Evie found him sitting on the grass near the fountain - their usual spot - with a smile that seemed tinged at the edges with relief. He knew she was dying to ask him about that morning, but he was glad when she only sat down and unwrapped her sandwich.

Zac had a tupperware of sushi - all of it stuffed with either crab, eel, or lobster and wrapped in seaweed. Fortunately, his parents hadn't questioned his sudden obsession with sushi for lunch and his mum was more than happy to buy pre-prepared maki rolls from the shop. Sandwiches and burgers - unless they had a fish patty - just didn't hold the same appeal as they once did.

They ate mostly in silence. Evie brought up a few things from class, but she delicately skirted around the issue of his mother's abandonment and what it meant to be on a mermaid hit list. Zac wasn't going to complain. He still had a lot to think about.

Rita's words kept chasing each other around his head like a dog chasing its own tail. Change didn't have to be a bad thing...except when that change meant a lifetime of lies rising to the surface.

But Rita had made him realise one thing - it was no good thinking about what ifs. Wondering what it might have been like if he'd never found out the truth was now a moot point. It had happened and what he knew now could not be un-known.

He couldn't turn back time and, to be perfectly honest, the more he really thought about what he might be giving up, the more he realised he didn't _want _to. Stress and worry made his head spin and making stupid, rash decisions about getting rid of his tail just because he wanted to stop having to look over his shoulder wasn't the answer.

The relief he'd felt at finding out no one would ever be able to take away his tail was realisation enough that he didn't want to go back. Not really. Give up the freedom of the ocean? It would be like cutting off his own nose to spite his face. He'd find another way to deal with all of this.

"I talked to Mimmi," Evie said, abruptly, yanking Zac from his spiralling introspection.

He realised he'd eaten all his sushi, so he reached for his water bottle and managed to gulp nearly half of it at once.

"I told her she needed to be less clingy and obvious about your relationship," Evie told him, picking at the label on her own bottle absently. "I think she got the message." She paused, setting the bottle down on the warm grass and leaning back. She shot Zac a sideways look from the corner of her eye. He took another drink. "You know," she added, "you could be a little more...sympathetic to her."

"I let her hug me, didn't I?" Zac grumbled, snapping the cap back on the bottle. "What more does she want?"

Evie shook her head. "It's not about that. Don't you realise what a great opportunity this is? Mimmi's on your side, now and forever. I'd love to have a brother or a sister; someone I know I could trust, who would always be there for me to turn to." She rolled onto her elbow, gazing at him.

Zac didn't answer. He leaned his arms on his knees, hands falling between his legs. He fiddled with his thumbs, frowning at the school's fountain. It bubbled away merrily, though this time there was no fear of it suddenly erupting all over him like it had when Nixie and Lyla were trying to take his powers.

He quirked a smile in remembrance. Back then things were so much less complicated.

"Hey."

Zac's head shot around. Cam eyed him and Evie with a hesitant look, his brown paper lunch bag clutched in one hand and his backpack slung over the other shoulder carelessly.

"Hey…" Evie replied slowly.

Cam's eyes flickered over to her for a second before fixing on Zac. He didn't say it explicitly, but Zac knew he was asking for permission to sit. Or maybe not, he amended, when Cam decided to simply plop down next to them before either of them could make up their minds.

"So," he said, pulling items out of his lunch bag - a packet of crisps, an apple, a sandwich - and arranging them on top of the brown paper, "what are you talking about?" He paused and glanced up when neither of them said anything. "Oh, right," he said, knowingly, "_that_." He raised his eyebrows at Zac. "Well, I guess I can't tease you about not being a genuine fish boy anymore."

Evie made a noise in the back of her throat and glared at Cam. She shot Zac a quick look, which was probably to judge his reaction to Cam's words. Zac was strangely unbothered. He was...he'd made his peace with that. Maybe. He was trying to make his peace with it, at least.

At least he was no longer straddling the fence, never quite belonging to either world.

"Oh don't give me that," Cam told Evie. "It's been days."

Zac unscrewed his water bottle again and drank.

"Explains an awful lot, if you ask me," Cam added and Zac nearly choked.

He yanked the bottle back, staring with narrowed eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cam noisily opened his packet of crisps and then offered the open bag. Zac didn't even blink. Cam shrugged and popped one in his mouth, crunching loudly. Zac grit his teeth. Cam was doing that annoying thing where he purposively acted aggravating. "_Cam._"

Cam finished chewing. "Jeez, keep your pants - sorry - keep your _scales_ on, Zac. Can't a guy eat?"

"Cam!" Evie also snapped.

Cam rolled his eyes, lowering the hand about to pop another crisp in his mouth. "Well, it explains why he was so defensive of Mako, the chamber, the trident, his powers, everything." Then he ate the crisp and crunched smugly. "Besides," he added, licking some salt off his thumb, "he took to it all a little too quickly if you ask me. I always figured that it was just easy, but I know you've been struggling a bit with everything, Evie."

Evie scowled, glancing down. "I'm much better now."

"Yeah, but Zac barely needed any practice at all."

"Okay," Zac interrupted. "Fine, it explains it. We done?"

Cam shrugged and untwisted his bottled juice. "Just sayin', mate."

Zac huffed, lightly. Okay, so maybe Cam had a point. It explained a lot.

"S'rough, though," Cam continued, suddenly, through gulps of juice. "I mean, _I_ had no idea you were adopted, no one did. What did your parents say about it?"

Evie made a slicing movement with her hand that Zac thought he probably wasn't meant to see. She shot Cam a wide-eyed look.

Zac though… He realised, suddenly, that having Cam just bulldoze through the issue was helping. It was...it was so Cam. And normal. And maybe he was still a little wary around him for pulling that stunt with the trident, and maybe they'd never get back to their original level of trust and camaraderie, but… He twisted so that he was sitting, cross-legged, and held out a hand for a crisp. Cam stopped eating in surprise, but quickly recovered and offered the bag with a grin. Evie glanced between them with even wider eyes.

"Were they ever gonna tell you?" Cam asked, as Zac slowly crunched his way through a handful of crisps.

He swallowed before speaking. "Apparently after I turned eighteen and was ready for university."

"Harsh," Cam sympathised. "And now?"

"Treating me like glass, tiptoeing around, constantly telling me how much it doesn't matter," he paused.

"And it doesn't," Evie cut in quickly with a firm look. She put a hand on Zac's knee and squeezed lightly. "Really, Zac, even if they found out about...you know...it still wouldn't matter."

"You don't think they wouldn't freak out just a little to find out they adopted a fishboy? I mean, his dad _is_ a doctor," said Cam.

Zac swallowed heavily, the taste of salt on his tongue suddenly like sand in his mouth. "I don't know…"

Evie rolled her eyes. "No. Maybe they'd be shocked, who wouldn't be? Even I was shocked and surprised. But they'd get over it, just like I did."

Cam made a noise in the back of his throat that could have been agreement or scepticism or both. "Well, if you need me to run interference, you know where to find me. Apparently, it's what I'm good at." He scowled down at his juice bottle.

"Thanks," Zac said, abruptly. Cam looked up in surprise. Zac shrugged. "Seriously, thanks. We'd be in a lot of trouble if not for you."

Cam looked chuffed. He tried to play it off, shrugging lightly and grinned. "Naw, gotta do my part, right?"

Evie reached over and patted Cam's hand. "Thanks," she smiled at him.

Cam looked a lot more pleased when he went back to his lunch. He unwrapped his sandwich with a content air and bit into it enthusiastically. Zac sat back and stared at the cloudless sky. He had so much to think about. Evie was right. Mimmi was here to stay and he needed to get used to that.

He was still having trouble reconciling himself to the idea that once upon a time they'd lived together, as brother and sister. How did that even _work?_ Had they had a cove - somewhere like the moon pool? For that matter, where had he been born? Was he actually a Canadian citizen? Or whatever the mer-equivalent was?

Weird.

After lunch, Zac managed to get through classes in a distracted manner that only got him in trouble once. When school let out, he caught up with Evie on the way to the café, bag over one shoulder, thoughts still a little distant. When they approached the docks where the café sat, Evie nudged him in the side and nodded towards where Mimmi was sitting by the railing outside, a half-empty juice on the table in front of her. "Go on, go talk to your sister."

Zac only just managed to repress the flinch. _Sister._ He still had trouble getting his head around the concept.

Mimmi had her head turned towards the ocean. Her elbows were on the table and her cheek in her palm as she stared out over the sparkling blue depths with a pensive expression on her face. She looked up when Zac's footsteps grew close enough and for once her expression didn't light up upon seeing him. Instead she merely stared at him, looking like she was trying to act unconcerned by his presence. Zac slid into the chair across from her and she only offered him a tiny, brief smile - almost a brush off.

Her reaction stung. He hadn't even considered how he'd feel if _Mimmi_ didn't want anything to do with him, or acted like she didn't care...and the realisation that he _did_ care if she wanted to be around him was startling.

He was such a hypocrite. All this time Mimmi had been nothing but supportive and happy for him, and he'd been pushing her away again and again. Now that she was doing the same to him...he was feeling hurt? He should feel relieved that she was backing off, not upset.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, hey."

"Hi," Mimmi replied, warily. She glanced to the side, at the Café doors. There were a few people sitting at the tables around them, but no one Zac was well acquainted with. Mimmi turned back to him and schooled her face into something politely interested. "Did you want to talk?"

Zac frowned. Her tone of voice was almost dismissive. He stared at her, trying to work out what had changed. Was it something he'd said? He'd pushed her away again that morning, but she hadn't seem _too_ upset by it. Only Evie had talked to her afterwards about…

_Oh._ Zac felt like a tool. Here Mimmi was, trying her hardest to do right by him, and all he could do was criticise her. He sighed and glanced away, guilt chewing at his insides.

"Zac?"

"You wanna go swimming?" Zac blurted out, without really thinking about it.

Mimmi's expression opened up into surprise, then softened slowly until she was smiling. "Really?"

Zac honestly wasn't sure what had possessed him to offer, but now that he had, he forced himself to nod. "Yeah."

Mimmi stood up quickly. "Okay," she breathed, voice catching around her smile. Zac slowly rose.

This was good, he decided. They needed to talk. Evie was right - he needed to give Mimmi a chance.

When she brushed past him towards the Café's dock, Zac caught her hand reaching out for his arm out of the corner of his eye. He waited for her to grab at his hand, or hang off his arm, like she had the day before, but at the last second she flinched back and drew her arm back to her side, like she was afraid to touch him.

Now he felt even worse about having Evie tell her to stop.

Mimmi walked straight past him, and down to the dock. She peered over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow, jerking her head towards the ocean. Zac followed slowly. He kept an eye out for David and Carly. No one else would pay them much thought if they happened to see two random teenagers jump off the dock. In their clothes. By this point, David's café was a little infamous for crazy shenanigans.

By the time he made it down to the docks, Mimmi had already slipped into the water and disappeared when no one was looking. Zac stood casually at the edge, stretched, glancing over his shoulder at the café as he did so, and when he was sure the three or four people seated outside were too engrossed in their conversations to notice, he allowed himself to slip off the edge.

Mimmi was waiting, golden-orange tail flicking lazily, arms keeping her in place. Her hair - the same colour as his own - floated about her head. As he drew alongside her, he wondered what kind of picture they made. He also wondered if anyone who didn't know them would automatically assume they were related.

The water stirred around them and Mimmi grinned at him, jerking her chin, before suddenly taking off in a flurry of bubbles. Zac blinked away the face full of bubbles and quickly took off after the trail she'd left behind. He couldn't help feeling a little smug when he caught up to her easily, despite her head start. He pulled in front, cutting across her path and forcing her to veer off. Stopping, he glanced over his shoulder and sure enough, her arms were waving frantically, trying to right herself. She scowled at him, eyes narrowing.

_It's on,_ she mouthed, scowl still firm. But her eyes were crinkled in the corners like she was only just managing to repress a smile.

Zac grinned back, _try me,_ he mouthed back.

An hour later at least, they finally got tired of playing the mer-equivalent of tag (and okay, he should feel like an idiot for enjoying such a childish game, but he really didn't). Somehow, they both turned towards Mako without needing to say anything. Instead of heading for the moon pool, however, Mimmi veered off towards the beach. She pulled herself out of the water, onto the sand where the tide was still lapping eagerly, and flopped back with a sigh. With the water covering her tail, she didn't change back, but she closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sun.

She reminded Zac of a lizard, basking.

Shrugging, he dragged himself up beside her and flopped down as well. The sand was warm, but wet, the ocean cool against his scales, and the sun bright but not too blinding this late in the day. It was kind of nice. He'd never done this before - sat in the sun as a merman. It made him think of all the children's movies he'd seen with mermaids. They were always portrayed sitting on rocks in a sunlit cove, singing and brushing their hair.

Maybe there was more truth to that than he'd thought. Maybe Disney was on to something.

Mimmi's breaths finally evened out from their frantic swimming and she sighed again. "Thanks."

He turned his head to the side to study her profile. "For what?"

Mimmi shrugged. "Helping me relax." She turned her head so they were staring at each other.

It was a little strange, so Zac propped himself up on his elbows so he could look down at her. He shrugged back at her. "It helped me too."

"I know. You're...I get that what you're going through is different. I'm trying to understand, and I just want to help and-"

"It's okay," Zac interrupted quickly, before Mimmi could get more worked up. Mimmi paused and eyed him hesitantly. "It get it," Zac added, "and thanks.

A smile pulled at her lips. "So...we're good?"

He nodded. Yeah...they were good. He could do this. Mimmi was...she really was just trying to help. She was his sister. He had a sister.

Mimmi's smile turned blinding and she reached out and grabbed his hand, covering it and squeezing. Wet sand clung in clumps to her skin, which he ignored. He probably had sand all down his back, and definitely all over his scales. "Good," she whispered, letting go of his hand. Suddenly, she rolled over until her elbow was planted right next to his stomach and she could rest her chin on her hands. Her fins thumped a few times against the wet sand before settling. "Let's rest a bit, then I can teach you some more stuff." She peeked a quick look at his face. "That is if you want to-"

"Okay," Zac cut in quickly. He let out a breath and flopped back down next to her. Their hips were touching, scales against scales, but it no longer felt quite so claustrophobic. It was just...there. Like a pat on the shoulder from his dad, or sitting next to his mother on the couch. Just a friendly, casual kind of closeness that he thought maybe he could get used to. "I should probably learn stuff, right?" he added when Mimmi glanced at him again.

She nudged his should with her own, grinning. "Of course! I've got years of big sister-ing to make up for!"

"Big sistering?" Zac repeated, eyebrows going up. "Is that a thing?"

Mimmi thumped his shoulder again. "It is now. _Little brother._"

"I'm bigger than you."

"_Younger_ brother."

"Not by much."

Mimmi flicked a piece of shell at him. "By enough!" She suddenly rolled out of reach, flinging her arms out on the wet sand, the tip of her tail curling upward before relaxing. "First lesson! Lying on beaches!"

Zac stared at her incredulously. Then he let his forehead touch the wet sand and sighed. Maybe he should have thought this through a little bit more.

"So, beaches! We have rules about beaches," Mimmi began while Zac was still gathering his courage to face her enthusiasm. "Technically this is breaking the rules, but hey! We've been kicked out of the pod, so I guess we make our own rules now…" she trailed off softly, then cleared her throat.

Zac raised his head and glanced at her, expecting to see red eyes or a frown. There was neither. Just Mimmi, staring at the sky, blinking at the clouds. She turned her head and their eyes met. She smiled. "Don't look at me like that. I gave up the pod for family. I think that's more important, don't you?"

Zac's heart clenched in his chest. It felt like Mimmi's words had reached inside him, wrapped around his lungs and squeezed. He let out a heavy breath, unable to hide the shock of her words. Because she was _right_. It hit him, then, the meaning behind what she had done. She'd given up everything - home, her friends, the people she had seen as family - for _him_. Because he was her brother. And she thought he was _worth_ it.

He blinked rapidly for a few moments, the salty breeze getting in his eyes. Mimmi continued to watch him, smile fading into concern. He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah." She really was right. Family was more important. Mimmi was family.

He got that now.

The smile tugged at the corners of his mouth without his say so. "Yeah," he repeated more firmly, "you're absolutely right."

His sister grinned back.

* * *

_[21.05.15] Aaaand that's a wrap! I also updated some of the other chapters for typos. I may continue to do so as I spot them or am made aware of them, but this should be it, for now. Hope you all enjoyed reading!  
[28.08.15] Corrected a typo. Be on the lookout for some one-shots in this 'verse on my author's profile!_


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